by John McCormick
A list quietly posted late Saturday or early Sunday shows Sen. Barack Obama’s network of big-money fundraisers continues to expand and more than 300 people have now each raised at least $50,000 on his behalf.
His number of so-called bundlers — those who ask friends, family and business associates to contribute — grew to 305, according to a list on his campaign’s Web site that included 54 new names since the last update.
Shortly after the end of each quarter, the campaign for the Illinois Democrat and presidential hopeful voluntarily discloses the names of those who have collected at least $50,000 for him.
Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, the only candidate on either side of the political aisle who has matched Obama’s fundraising prowess, discloses her bundlers in a higher denomination.
At last check, her campaign said it has 223 HillRaisers who have each raised at least $100,000. A Clinton spokesman was checking Sunday afternoon to see if that number has grown.
Over the weekend, the Tribune offered an exclusive glimpse inside “Obama University,” where veteran bundlers periodically train rookie fundraisers.
Obama’s new bundler list means that at least $15 million of the $79 million he raised during the first three quarters of the year came by way of bundlers.
In July, the Tribune reported that at least 22 percent—and likely much more— of the money Obama had raised during the first half of the year came by way of those who had raised at least $50,000.
