Clinton leads Dem presidential pack in winning Kerry’s top ’04 fundraisers

“Of the mess that Bush has created, we will really need someone who can come in and govern. can do that right away,” said John Merrigan, a partner at DLA Piper. Merrigan was Kerry’s Mid-Atlantic finance chairman and is now fundraising for Clinton.


http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/clinton-leads-dem-presidential-pack-in-winning-kerrys-top-04-fundraisers-2007-04-30.html




Clinton leads Dem presidential pack in winning Kerry’s top ’04 fundraisers

By Kevin Bogardus
May 01, 2007

Presidential contender Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has the most backing so far from the fundraisers behind the Democrats’ 2004 White House nominee, Sen. John Kerry (Mass.).
Thirty-eight individuals who bundled checks for Kerry’s campaign are raising money for the New York senator, far outweighing her closest rivals.

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), despite being Kerry’s running mate, has not recruited many of the 2004 fundraisers. Thirteen people who helped find funds then have signed on to the Edwards campaign — the lowest figure among the top tier of Democratic candidates.

“We are always working to recruit new fundraisers and continue to expand Sen. Edwards’s growing base of support,” said Kate Bedingfield, an Edwards campaign spokeswoman, noting the former senator doubled his 2004 first-quarter fundraising and has seen strong support from rural Southern areas. “We feel very good about where we are right now.”

Bundlers are vital cogs in the campaign machine. Fundraisers outside the typical campaign hierarchy help find new sources of money and keep pressure on old donors to continue signing checks.

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We have a REAL race for the nomination.

This is the first time since 1952 that neither a sitting President or Vice-President of either party will be running.

It's going to be a long battle so, "fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride".

Donors:

Clinton: 38
Obama: 24
Edwards: 13
Sidelines: more than 350


Okay, I suppose this trends slightly to Clinton, but the fact of the matter is a huge majority of the donors remain undecided, and are going to wait and see.

I am surprised that so many of the Kerry bundlers are on the sidelines. I had heard that virtually all his top bundlers were still with him when he decided not to run. They are likely doing what Kerry himself is doing- waiting to see what the candidates' positions are and how well they run.

When you consider that these bundlers include people who likely allied with Kerry after he became the nominee, it is very likely that before being Kerry bundlers in 2004 - they were Clinton bundlers.

What this may indicate is that there is room for someone like Gore to jump in.

I must admit that he struck me as someone fighting global warming, not someone gearing up to run for president where you have to actually deal with these leaders.

that a huge number of very active people are not completely happy with any one of the choices. (or I guess you could specualte they like more than one).

That is a good point on Gore's action.

.