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Source: www.examiner.com
California remains a 'donor heaven' - Merced Sun-Star
Less than two weeks before a now-inconsequential Republican presidential primary -- and six months before a November election in which Obama almost certainly will carry California -- the state has settled into a familiar role: For a presidential candidate, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll, "California's a place where you shake the trees."
Obama is scheduled to arrive in the Bay Area for two fund-raisers today.
Obama and Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, are expected to rely heavily on California to export millions of dollars in campaign contributions to competitive races in other states.
"Let's face it," said Eric Bauman, vice chairman of the California Democratic Party. "For Democrats, California is donor heaven, and because so many Californians support this president, it makes it an important place for him to come."
Through April 30, presidential campaigns had raised $43 million in itemized donations from Californians, down nearly 60 percent from the $102 million candidates had raised here by this point during the 2008 cycle, according to a Sacramento Bee review of data from the Federal Election Commission.
But that data only tells part of the story. New on the scene are the Super PACs, which spend money independent of a candidate's campaign and allow unlimited donations. As of April 30, roughly 1,100 California donors had contributed a total of $25 million to Super PACs, according to the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation. The average contribution was $23,000.
Obama's popularity nationwide has been tested by the recession, and even in California, his job approval rating in February was just 53 percent, far less than what it once was, according to a Field Poll.
His supporters are preparing for a fight.
Dennis Driver of Sacramento, a vice president of the Bay Area biopharmaceutical company Theravance Inc., increased his donation to Obama to $2,500 this year, up from $500 in 2008.
"I see this as an even more challenging time for his candidacy, and I felt it was important that I weigh in in as many dimensions as possible," Driver said.
Republicans, meanwhile, sense that Obama is vulnerable. "If we can provide resources to areas where it might make a difference, then we're happy to do that," said Jack Williams, who has given Romney $2,500 this election, twice what he gave in 2008.
Source: www.mercedsunstar.com
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