Cash Pours In For Obama After Same-Sex “Evolution,” No Boost For Romney
Cash Pours In For Obama After Same-Sex “Evolution,” No Boost For Romney
May 11, 2012 4:45 AM EDT
Matt Taylor
Socially liberal Wall Street Republicans could distance themselves from Romney, reports Matt Taylor.
While Barack Obama’s dramatic embrace of same-sex marriage Wednesday opened the floodgates of fundraising and enthusiasm for his re-election campaign, it appears to present new challenges for Mitt Romney. Despite suggestions that the president’s new position would bring out impassioned foes of gay marriage, it is supporters who so far have been most energized by the president’s move.
“I hope the issue, as tender and sensitive as the marriage issue is, is not a source of fundraising for either of us,” Romney told Fox News’ Neal Cavuto Thursday when asked about Obama’s recent fundraising numbers and whether he was experiencing a boost of his own. Which is basically a way of acknowledging that social conservatives and Mormon donors have known for months who their horse is in this race, and Romney would rather have kept the issue out of the news. Instead, he faces a delicate balancing act, stuck between socially liberal Republican donors on Wall Street and hardliners on the religious right who can bring out votes but don’t tend to fill campaign coffers.
Within 90 minutes of ABC airing Obama’s hastily scheduled interview his campaign had raked in $1 million in contributions. Obama flies Thursday night to Hollywood for a fundraiser hosted by actor George Clooney that is expected to bring in as much as $15 million. And that’s just the start, say Democrats close to the party’s powerful gay donor base.
“You’re going to see a significant uptick in donations for the president,” said Brian Ellner, Human Rights Campaign’s senior strategist for the successful push to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in New York last year. “I’ve been contacted by many, many people in the last 24 hours, and they are opening up their wallets in significant ways.”
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