Original Blog Entry: Obama camp wants $60 million by end of June

truesee — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:33:28 GMT

June 2nd, 2011

11:10 AM ET

Obama camp wants $60 million by end of June

CNN White House Producer Alexander Mooney (CNN) - He won t face a Republican opponent for months, but President Obama is aiming to kick the campaign season off with a fundraising bang, asking his top donors to bring in $60 million by the end of June.

The request came in a presentation to heavyweight fundraisers Wednesday in Chicago, according to a source who has seen the presentation. The $60 million cash haul would go both to Obama s reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee, and is in line with reports that the Obama campaign is ultimately hoping to raise $1 billion during the upcoming campaign cycle.

June 31 marks the end of the second fundraising quarter: by way of comparison, the Obama campaign raised just over $30 million in the second quarter of 2007. But the eye-popping figure is approximately equal to what the Bush/Cheney campaign raised for its reelection effort in the second quarter of 2003.

Meanwhile, the reelection campaign continues to target small donors, sending out an e-mail solicitation earlier Thursday asking for as little as $5. Like in 2008, the campaign has pledged not to take money from lobbyists or PACs, pledging to do this the right way.

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