Obama Expects Modest Fundraising Quarter

[Geee]

National Journal:

President Obama’s reelection campaign will bring in a “moderate” amount of money when it reports its fundraising total to the Federal Election Commission in July, a senior campaign adviser said.

The adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that campaign officials have decided to devote the bulk of their early efforts to fortifying the Democratic National Committee rather than the president's own reelection campaign, anticipating that DNC will need to spend the money earlier. This decision, they said, accounts for the lower total.

Obama advisers anticipate that the president's campaign will face questions about whether it is on track to meet internal fundraising targets, which have not been disclosed. Inevitably, Obama’s take will be compared with Republican Mitt Romney's because Romney is the closest thing the GOP field has to a front-runner. On Monday alone, Romney’s Nevada call-a-thon took in more than $10 million.

Obama raised a record-shattering amount of campaign money in the 2008 cycle--nearly $750 million.

So far the president has attended a dozen fundraisers in six cities since announcing on April 14 his decision to seek reelection. Half have been events where tickets cost $35,800. DNC takes $30,800 of that; Obama’s campaign gets only $5,000.

Donors, generally, have been asked to purchase at least four tickets to high-dollar events such as these. Obama has also attended a number of fundraisers where tickets run $1,000. The president attended a two-tier event in Washington on Monday night, and he will be in Boston on Wednesday.

Politico reported on Monday that Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to appear at five fundraisers this month hosted by the party.