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Senators, Wall St. head to fundraiser

Jeremy Hobson May 3, 2010
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Senators, Wall St. head to fundraiser

Jeremy Hobson May 3, 2010
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TEXT OF STORY

Steve Chiotakis: Connecticut Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd says he won’t be at a big fundraiser in New York. The fancy to-do will feature some of the biggest names from Wall Street. A lot of folks targeted by financial reform legislation, which Senator Dodd is heading up. But New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who’s up for re-election, will be there. And as Marketplace’s Jeremy Hobson found out, those invited could deliver her a warchest boost.


Jeremy Hobson: On the guest list: lots of Wall Street names.

Dave Levinthal: Wall Street is where the money is.

That’s Dave Levinthal with the Center for Responsive Politics:

Levinthal: If you want to raise money, if you want to have a successful campaign, then you’ve got to raise dough to do it. And going to Wall Street, well, there’s still a lot of cash to go around there.

And in recent elections, most of that cash has gone to Republicans. Though in 2008, Levinthal says it was an even split between the parties. And this year, he says Democrats are losing ground with the banking industry.

Levinthal: The Democrats are receiving about 45 percent, the Republicans about 54 percent. And still there’s a whole lot of cash to be raised, as you can tell with this fundraiser.

Senator Gillibrand’s office says tonight’s get-together is not an industry event and that she remains a supporter of strong financial reform.

In New York, I’m Jeremy Hobson for Marketplace.

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