Obama's Top Contributors in Mass. Lagging

Massachusetts supporters who contribute the maximum to President Barack Obama’s campaign have dropped almost 50 percent from a similar point in 2008, according to a report Wednesday in the Boston Globe.

 

But the Globe said “an elite corps of Massachusetts backers” has continued to give big donations to the Democratic National Committee to help maintain the state’s reputation as a cash cow for the party.

 

“It’s harder to get quite as galvanized about his re-election as compared to when he was purely a symbol of incredible promise, without the baggage of four years of reality dragging him down,’’ said Gabor Garai, a Boston attorney and Obama fundraiser. “Today we have an incumbent president who’s had to face some enormous difficulties.’’

 

Citing interviews with 10 of Obama’s top former and current Massachusetts fundraisers, the Globe said most remain optimistic that contributions from the state directly to the president’s campaign will pick up when he visits next month for the first time this year.

 

But they admitted that raising money directly for the president may be a little harder this time around.

 

“It used to be we could round up the usual suspects but now we may have to go a little deeper. We may have to go to the bench. But I’m not worried,’’ said Jack Connors, a Boston advertising executive who is planning a private event next month to raise money for the president.

 

According to the Globe, Obama had raised $7.4 million in the state by this time four years ago, with 1,463 individuals contributing the maximum of $2,500.

 

But this year, the newspaper said the figure stands at $5.5 million, with 739 people donating the maximum for either the primary or general election campaign.