SPRINGFIELD — As political leaders were rewriting Illinois election law to help Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency, the state’s political donors were doing their part — contributing close to $7.7 million to the Illinois favorite.
That’s how much Obama has raised in his state, as of the end of June, in his bid for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, according to data from the Federal Election Commission.
He is far and away Illinois’ most successful presidential fundraiser in either party, outraising fellow Democrat (and Illinois native) Hillary Rodham Clinton more than 4-to-1 in the state. He is also beating the entire combined Republican field by more than 3-to-1, the data show.
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The state’s Democratic-controlled political leadership has made no pretense of even-handedness in its view of the wide field of Democratic presidential candidates.
In a speech in January, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan first proposed pushing the state’s 2008 primary elections forward, to Feb. 5.
It’s been a common move among states this year, including Missouri, but Madigan’s explanation for it was unusual in its bluntness: “Illinois will be able to mark up for Barack Obama,” said Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, drawing thunderous applause from a bipartisan audience of state lawmakers.
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/08/26/news/doc46d22fb24ebb9395866942.txtsnip
The No. 2 presidential money-raiser in Missouri is a Democrat — Obama from neighboring Illinois — who has collected more than twice as much money in the state as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.
Unlike Romney, Obama's success came without an edge in Missouri Democratic endorsements. So far, he's split the few big-name ones with Clinton.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/71E513A1F894D2D48625734200103BA0?OpenDocumentO
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