Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now
Campaign Trail

A look at the Obama campaign’s money strategy

John Dimsdale Apr 16, 2012

David Brancaccio: There’s word this morning that President Obama raised $53 million in March. But campaign fundraising could get tougher for the President, as Marketplace’s John Dimsdale reports.


John Dimsdale: Obama has a big head start in campaign donations. He’s raised twice as much as Romney, mostly from smaller donors. But the president is still getting swamped in big-money fundraising.   

Anna Greenberg: On the Democratic side, you don’t really have these rich individuals like the Koch brothers for example, who give at the level the Koch Brothers give.

That’s Anna Greenberg, a Democratic campaign strategist. The Koch Brothers, their company and employees have given $1.5 million to conservative campaigns and super PACs so far this election. Greenberg says in the last campaign, candidate Obama discouraged supporters from donating to outside Democratic allies.    

Greenberg: The Obama campaign has clearly signaled this time around that they want progressive and Democratic donors to give to super PACs and outside efforts, which is sort of a reversal from 2008. Because they can’t compete with the super PACs.

Even with the disadvantages, Obama expects his smaller donors to match the Romney campaign dollar-for-dollar, each spending around $750 million on the race for president.

In Washington, I’m John Dimsdale for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.