Obama Raises $42 Million in Fourth Quarter
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama raised $42 million for his re-election effort in the three closing months of 2011, with almost all donations coming in increments of $250 or less, his campaign manager Jim Messina said Thursday in a web video.
The total, one of the indicators of a campaign’s strength Messina alleges, underscored the robustness of Obama’s operation, before the president has fully transitioned to campaign mode. It also highlights his continued success at re-engaging old supporters and enlisting new ones for 2012.
For all of 2011, more than 1.3 million Americans donated to help re-elect Obama, Messina said, exceeding their base of donors-supporters at this point in the last campaign.
More than 583,000 people wrote checks or gave money online between October and December alone, including 200,000 brand new faces who had never donated to Obama before, he said.
Ninety-eight percent of donations were $250 or less, with an average donation of $55, according to the campaign.
“This enthusiasm is in stark contrast to what we’ve seen on the other side,” noted Messina, “where recent polls and studies show a dropping enthusiasm among Republican primary voters as they get to know their field.”
Obama has now collected a total $131 million for his campaign. Combined with funds raised by the Democratic National Committee, which will work in tandem with the president, the total exceeds $220 million.
Obama will need all the help he can get: with unemployment still high and his approval numbers lower nationwide, his reelection team has its work cut out for it.
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