Small-Dollar Donors Propel Barack Obama, Non-Romney Republicans [View all]

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Small-Dollar Donors Propel Barack Obama, Non-Romney Republicans

By Michael Beckel

President Barack Obama has raised more money for his re-election bid from small-dollar donors than Republican Mitt Romney has collected from all his contributors, according to a new Center for Responsive Politics analysis.

Obama brought in approximately $58.5 million last year from individuals who donated $200 or less, successfully rallying a massive base of online donors...Overall, since he launched his re-election campaign in April, Obama has raised about $125 million. Thus, about 47 percent of his total receipts -- nearly $1 out of every $2 raised -- has come from a donor of $200 or less, the threshold for itemized reporting with the Federal Election Commission.

Meanwhile, Romney, who has raised about $56.5 million for his presidential campaign, saw only about 9 percent of that -- or $5.2 million -- coming from small-dollar donors, according to the Center's research.

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During the final three months of 2011, the percentage of Obama's money coming from small-dollar donors dipped slightly, to about 43 percent (about $17.4 million out of a total $39.9 million raised) from its share earlier in the year. But that still ranks above his performance with small-dollar donors during every quarter of the 2008 election cycle, as illustrated in the chart below.

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http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/02/small-dollar-donors-propel-obama.html