President’ Obama’s re-election campaign announced this morning that it raised over $68 million, in conjunction with the Democratic National Committee, in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Mr. Obama’s campaign team, Obama for America, raised more than $42 million, while the DNC brought in more than $24 million, OFA Campaign manager Jim Messina announced in a video emailed to supporters.
Messina boasted that the president’s grassroots support remains strong, with more than 1.3 million donors. The average donation size in the fourth quarter was $55. Still, Messina warned of the misconception that the Obama team doesn’t need small donations.
“The biggest difference between 2008 and 2012 from a fundraising perspective is that some supporters have begun to think that somehow other people are going to take care of things and it will be fine,” Messina said in the email to supporters. “But there’s no secret strategy that we can count on. There is no cavalry. There’s only you.”
The Obama campaign, he said, isn’t taking money from Washington lobbyists or super PACs. There is a super PAC, called Priorities USA, that was founded by two former Obama White House staffers that is supporting the president’s re-election bid.
The Obama team sent its email the day after the president attended a series of fundraisers. The first Wednesday night event took place at the University of Illinois at Chicago. General admission tickets for the event cost $100 while a limited number of tickets were available starting at $44 for the campaign’s Gen44 initiative, which targets young adults.
After that, Mr. Obama attended a fundraiser at a private residence where tickets cost $35,800 per couple. The third fundraiser of the night took place at a private residence with tickets starting at $7,500.
In his video message, Messina said the enthusiasm the campaign has seen “is in stark contrast to what we’ve seen on the other side where recent polls and studies show a dropping enthusiasm among Republican primary voters as they get to know their field.”
Mitt Romney, the current Republican presidential frontrunner, announced Wednesday that heraised $24 million in the final three months of last year, leaving him with $19 million in cash on hand.