A new study
by the Campaign Finance Institute dispels the notion that
small donors (i.e., under $200 total) were a dominant factor in
Barack Obama's fundraising:
Although an unusually high percentage (49%) of Obama's funds
came in discrete contributions of $200 or less (see Table 3),
only 26% of his money through August 31 (and 24% of his funds
through October 15, according to the most recent FEC reports)
came from donors whose total contributions aggregated to $200
or less. Obama's 26% compares to 25% for George W. Bush in
2004, 20% for John Kerry in 2004, 21% for John McCain in 2008,
13% for Hillary Clinton in 2008, and 38% for Howard Dean in
2004.
In other words, the media-fueled image of Obama relying
predominantly on small donors was actually the result of multiple
contributions by people who might be described as "big donors on
the installment plan." Nonetheless, the relative lack of
grassroots support for John McCain's campaign is apparent in the
CFI study, which finds that McCain got 41% of of his
fundraising from those who gave less than $1,000 total, compared
to 53% for Obama.
(Via
LA Times and Instapundit.)
