Obama Fundraising in Second Quarter 2011

On the evening of April 14, 2011 President Obama started fundraising for the 2012 campaign with three events in Chicago.  Some analysts have suggested that the Obama re-election campaign could end up raising as much as $1 billion.  The Obama Victory Fund is joint account of the Obama campaign and the DNC.  Some of these events have tickets as low as $25 and others have a top price of $35,800, which is split $5,000 for the campaign ($2,500 primary and $25,000 general) and $30,800 for the DNC.  In the second quarter, Obama spoke at thirty (thirty-one?) fundraisers.

President Obama Fundraisers 
June 30
Reception at the Hyatt at the Bellevue in Philadelphia, PA (about 800 people).
Dinner at the home of Comcast executive and former Ed Rendell mayoral aide David L. Cohen and his wife, Rhonda in Mt. Airy (Philadelphia), PA (about 120 people).

June 23
LGBT event at the Sheraton Hotel in New York, NY (about 600 people).
Event with financial industry donors at Daniel, a restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York, NY (about 72 people).
Following performance of "Sister Act" at Broadway Theatre in New York, NY (1,400-plus people).

June 20
Dinner with Americans in Support of a Strong US-Israel Relationship at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC (about 80 people).
Dinner with the Mid-Atlantic Finance Committee at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC (about 100 people).

June 13
Residence of former Samsonite CEO and ambassador to Singapore Steven Green and wife Dorothea in Miami Beach, FL (about 80 people).
Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts in Miami, FL (about 900 people).
Residence of Dr. J.P. and Maggie Austin in Coconut Grove (Miami), FL.

May 19
Women's Leadership Forum at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, DC (between 250 and 550 people).
Home of attorney John Phillips in Dupont Circle, Wasington, DC (about 50 people).

May 18  ...$2 million-plus
Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts in Boston, MA (about 900 people).
Dinner at the residence of Jack Connors, founder of Hill Holliday ad agency, in Brookline, MA (about 130 people).

May 16
Dinner at Adour at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, DC (about 60 people).
Reception at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, DC (about 590 people).

May 10   ...up to $2 million
Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theatre in Austin, TX (about 750 people).
Dinner at the residence of Blaine and Alexis Wesner in West Lake Hills (Austin), TX (about 50 people).

April 27   ...total between $2-3 million
Residence of former New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine in New York, NY (about 60 people).
Waldorf Astoria in New York, NY (about 350 people).
Gen 44 event at The Town Hall in New York, NY (about 1,300 people).

April 21 
Breakfast at St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco, CA (about 200 people).  [incident with protest song over Bradley Manning]
Dinner at The Commissary Restaurant at Sony Picture Studios in Culver City (Los Angeles), CA (about 50 people). 
Gen 44 event at Soundstage 30 at Sony Studios in Culver City (Los Angeles), CA (more than 2,500 people). 
Tavern Restaurant in Brentwood (Los Angeles), CA (about 60 people).

April 20
Dinner at the residence of Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, in Presidio Heights section of San Francisco, CA (about 200 people). 
Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco, CA (about 2,500 people). 

April 14   ...total $2 million
N9NE Restaurant in Chicago, IL (about 100 people). 
MK Restaurant in Chicago, IL (about 50 people). 
Rally at Navy Yard in Chicago, IL (about 2,300 people).  


Note: Here's a June 30, 2011 press release from the RNC-

RNC Chairman Priebus Statement on President Obama’s Leadership Hypocrisy

WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus released the following statement regarding President Obama’s campaign trip to Philadelphia today for his 30th and 31st  fundraisers after spending yesterday’s press conference scolding Congress to stay in town and work:

“Yesterday the president took an opportunity to speak to the American people to demagogue Republicans and point fingers, saying ‘leaders are going to lead.’ The very next day the President is jetting off to Philadelphia to line his campaign coffers. Is this the kind of leadership Obama was talking about? Instead of telling the American people how he planned to turn the economy around and create jobs, he chose to use national TV time to play politics. The truth is Team Obama is nervous about his reelection because it is clear Obama owns this economy – just as David Plouffe said this morning on the Today Show – and his policies have failed. As a result, the president has replaced hope and change with partisan politics at all costs, even if it means keeping his job while so many Americans lose theirs.”