Mitt Romney and President Obama are spending a lot of time in California these days, and their well-worn paths illustrate the most important thing the state has to offer their campaigns for the White House.Money.
Obama, in a quick fundraising trip this week, will hit San Francisco and Beverly Hills, locales that rank high on his list of major donors. The Beverly Hills gala on Wednesday, headlined by the singer Pink, and a dinner the same evening could raise as much as $10 million.
Romney spent much of last week raising millions in GOP enclaves such as Del Mar, Newport Beach, Riverside and the Central Valley, as well as the wealthy communities of Beverly Hills and, in the Bay Area, Hillsborough.
Californians have already contributed $60 million to the president and his Republican rival, as well as more than $5 million to other candidates whose efforts failed, according to federal disclosure reports of donations through April 30, the most recent available. Obama has taken in $49 million of that largesse, in donations to his campaign and assorted party groups. (As the incumbent, he has been able to take advantage of higher donation levels than Romney, who just recently saw his fundraising targets rise.)
The state and its wealthy donors have always served as a source of bounty for national politicians, who spend years cultivating individual donors before the pinnacle of national contests.
The donors get access to power, for a price. What they don't get — given the state's strongly Democratic tilt — is a chance to see their dollars in action here. Their millions will be spent on campaign operations in Chicago and Boston, advertising in battleground states such as Ohio and Iowa, and get-out-the-vote efforts in states like Nevada and North Carolina.
"Both in terms of money and time and resources, Californians know the majority of what they contribute, those efforts or dollars or phone calls, are probably going to be applied elsewhere," said Ken Solomon, chief executive of the Tennis Channel and co-chairman of Obama's Southern California fundraising effort.
"Most people understand it's not just for us; it's for a greater good," he added.
Fundraising, like all things in a political campaign, is a careful balance of risk and reward — unflattering perceptions versus cool, hard cash. Obama raised eyebrows when he criticized Romney for his past leadership of a private equity firm as the president was raising money from people in the same industry. Romney was chided by political observers on both sides of the aisle for last week's Nevada fundraiser with Donald Trump, who continues to push disproven theories about where Obama was born.
The California events are no different. When Obama headlined a gala at actor George Clooney's house in Studio City, it highlighted GOP criticism that he was more interested in celebrities than the common man. When Romney held an event in a 95-room mansion in Hillsborough last week, the setting reminded voters that he is an exceptionally wealthy man who Democrats have long argued is out of touch. Meg Whitman, a national finance co-chairwoman for the GOP candidate and longtime Romney confidant who lives near Hillsborough, had been expected to attend but did not. Whitman, CEO ofHewlett-Packard, recently announced the layoffs of 27,000 people at the company.
As might be expected, both parties draw their California cash predominantly from the moneyed sections of the state — Brentwood ranks first among California ZIP Codes for Obama, with $1.5 million given this cycle, and fifth for Romney, with $241,000. Beverly Hills came in second for Obama, with $1.4 million donated, and fourth for Romney, at $271,000. Orange County may be ceding its strongly Republican image because of demographic changes, but Newport Beach still ranks above all others when it comes to GOP financing, giving $314,000 to Romney.
Donations by industry also vary greatly, and split along traditional Democratic and Republican lines. Obama has raised 16 times as much money as Romney from the entertainment industry in California, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics that looked only at the two men's individual campaign accounts. Romney has raised substantially more money than Obama from donors involved in agriculture and the financial sector.
Fundraising has dominated the president's recent visits to California; he has not held a public rally in some time.
Obama's top donor regions are classic Democratic strongholds. No areas in Orange or San Diego counties appear on his Top 10. After Brentwood and the 90210 neighborhood of Beverly Hills comes Atherton, near San Francisco, where donors gave $1 million, the same amount gained from a San Francisco ZIP code. The two were among five Bay Area communities to make the Top 10.
The fundraising figures don't include two runs the president made to California in May. His star-studded dinner at Clooney's raised nearly $15 million, believed to be a one-night record. His later three-event, 16-hour swing through the Bay Area reportedly netted an additional $4 million.
Obama's numbers have been driven not only by the state's Democratic leanings but by the benefits of incumbency — for more than a year, he has been able to raise far greater sums than Romney because of federal fundraising rules.
Candidates can raise a total of $5,000 per person for their personal campaign coffers, and looking solely at those numbers, Romney and Obama are close — the president has raised nearly $13 million from Californians, while the GOP challenger has raised $11 million.
Yet the bulk of Obama's fundraising has occurred through a "victory fund" — a joint fundraising committee of his campaign, the Democratic National Committee and an additional federal account — that can raise $75,800 per donor over a two-year cycle.
While Obama has been able to raise these larger figures for well over a year, Romney could not start raising the sums with the Republican National Committee and state parties until mid-April, after he became the presumptive nominee. The first filings disclosing the new fundraising will not be made until July. The Romney campaign has declined to detail its joint California fundraising thus far.
GOP fundraisers say well-heeled Californian Republicans have been looking forward to being able to write larger checks to help Romney take the White House in November. Shawn Steel, former state party chairman, co-hosted a fundraising dinner for Romney in late March at the Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles.
"Lots of people were eagerly writing checks, and when they were told that once we have a nominee, instead of giving $2,500, they can give up to $35,000, you should have heard the excitement in the crowd," he said.
Like Obama's, Romney's financial strongholds follow logical patterns. Newport Beach, where Romney held a fundraiser Friday evening at the Balboa Bay Club, was one of three Orange County ZIP Codes in his Top 10. Neighbors of Romney's beachfront mansion in La Jolla were also generous, taking second place with nearly $305,000.
The finance reports also reflect that after a long primary season, GOP donors who once supported other candidates have consolidated behind their presumptive nominee.
"I really do think the entire base of Republican donors are embracing Romney now," said Jeff Miller, former fundraising chairman of the state party and a former backer of Texas Gov. Rick Perry. "Republicans now want to move and want to take on Obama."
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Maloy Moore and Sandra Poindexter in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Obama, in a quick fundraising trip this week, will hit San Francisco and Beverly Hills, locales that rank high on his list of major donors. The Beverly Hills gala on Wednesday, headlined by the singer Pink, and a dinner the same evening could raise as much as $10 million.
Romney spent much of last week raising millions in GOP enclaves such as Del Mar, Newport Beach, Riverside and the Central Valley, as well as the wealthy communities of Beverly Hills and, in the Bay Area, Hillsborough.
Californians have already contributed $60 million to the president and his Republican rival, as well as more than $5 million to other candidates whose efforts failed, according to federal disclosure reports of donations through April 30, the most recent available. Obama has taken in $49 million of that largesse, in donations to his campaign and assorted party groups. (As the incumbent, he has been able to take advantage of higher donation levels than Romney, who just recently saw his fundraising targets rise.)
The state and its wealthy donors have always served as a source of bounty for national politicians, who spend years cultivating individual donors before the pinnacle of national contests.
The donors get access to power, for a price. What they don't get — given the state's strongly Democratic tilt — is a chance to see their dollars in action here. Their millions will be spent on campaign operations in Chicago and Boston, advertising in battleground states such as Ohio and Iowa, and get-out-the-vote efforts in states like Nevada and North Carolina.
"Both in terms of money and time and resources, Californians know the majority of what they contribute, those efforts or dollars or phone calls, are probably going to be applied elsewhere," said Ken Solomon, chief executive of the Tennis Channel and co-chairman of Obama's Southern California fundraising effort.
"Most people understand it's not just for us; it's for a greater good," he added.
Fundraising, like all things in a political campaign, is a careful balance of risk and reward — unflattering perceptions versus cool, hard cash. Obama raised eyebrows when he criticized Romney for his past leadership of a private equity firm as the president was raising money from people in the same industry. Romney was chided by political observers on both sides of the aisle for last week's Nevada fundraiser with Donald Trump, who continues to push disproven theories about where Obama was born.
The California events are no different. When Obama headlined a gala at actor George Clooney's house in Studio City, it highlighted GOP criticism that he was more interested in celebrities than the common man. When Romney held an event in a 95-room mansion in Hillsborough last week, the setting reminded voters that he is an exceptionally wealthy man who Democrats have long argued is out of touch. Meg Whitman, a national finance co-chairwoman for the GOP candidate and longtime Romney confidant who lives near Hillsborough, had been expected to attend but did not. Whitman, CEO ofHewlett-Packard, recently announced the layoffs of 27,000 people at the company.
As might be expected, both parties draw their California cash predominantly from the moneyed sections of the state — Brentwood ranks first among California ZIP Codes for Obama, with $1.5 million given this cycle, and fifth for Romney, with $241,000. Beverly Hills came in second for Obama, with $1.4 million donated, and fourth for Romney, at $271,000. Orange County may be ceding its strongly Republican image because of demographic changes, but Newport Beach still ranks above all others when it comes to GOP financing, giving $314,000 to Romney.
Donations by industry also vary greatly, and split along traditional Democratic and Republican lines. Obama has raised 16 times as much money as Romney from the entertainment industry in California, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics that looked only at the two men's individual campaign accounts. Romney has raised substantially more money than Obama from donors involved in agriculture and the financial sector.
Fundraising has dominated the president's recent visits to California; he has not held a public rally in some time.
Obama's top donor regions are classic Democratic strongholds. No areas in Orange or San Diego counties appear on his Top 10. After Brentwood and the 90210 neighborhood of Beverly Hills comes Atherton, near San Francisco, where donors gave $1 million, the same amount gained from a San Francisco ZIP code. The two were among five Bay Area communities to make the Top 10.
The fundraising figures don't include two runs the president made to California in May. His star-studded dinner at Clooney's raised nearly $15 million, believed to be a one-night record. His later three-event, 16-hour swing through the Bay Area reportedly netted an additional $4 million.
Obama's numbers have been driven not only by the state's Democratic leanings but by the benefits of incumbency — for more than a year, he has been able to raise far greater sums than Romney because of federal fundraising rules.
Candidates can raise a total of $5,000 per person for their personal campaign coffers, and looking solely at those numbers, Romney and Obama are close — the president has raised nearly $13 million from Californians, while the GOP challenger has raised $11 million.
Yet the bulk of Obama's fundraising has occurred through a "victory fund" — a joint fundraising committee of his campaign, the Democratic National Committee and an additional federal account — that can raise $75,800 per donor over a two-year cycle.
While Obama has been able to raise these larger figures for well over a year, Romney could not start raising the sums with the Republican National Committee and state parties until mid-April, after he became the presumptive nominee. The first filings disclosing the new fundraising will not be made until July. The Romney campaign has declined to detail its joint California fundraising thus far.
GOP fundraisers say well-heeled Californian Republicans have been looking forward to being able to write larger checks to help Romney take the White House in November. Shawn Steel, former state party chairman, co-hosted a fundraising dinner for Romney in late March at the Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles.
"Lots of people were eagerly writing checks, and when they were told that once we have a nominee, instead of giving $2,500, they can give up to $35,000, you should have heard the excitement in the crowd," he said.
Like Obama's, Romney's financial strongholds follow logical patterns. Newport Beach, where Romney held a fundraiser Friday evening at the Balboa Bay Club, was one of three Orange County ZIP Codes in his Top 10. Neighbors of Romney's beachfront mansion in La Jolla were also generous, taking second place with nearly $305,000.
The finance reports also reflect that after a long primary season, GOP donors who once supported other candidates have consolidated behind their presumptive nominee.
"I really do think the entire base of Republican donors are embracing Romney now," said Jeff Miller, former fundraising chairman of the state party and a former backer of Texas Gov. Rick Perry. "Republicans now want to move and want to take on Obama."
[email protected]
[email protected]
Maloy Moore and Sandra Poindexter in Los Angeles contributed to this report.