Obama expected to raise $1 billion for re-election bid

“In 2008,he was very much an insurgent candidate,somebody from out of nowhere with a wholly different story. And the Obama campaign was as much a crusade as it was a traditional campaign for president,” said Christopher Arterton,a professor of political management at George Washington University who has also been a Democratic consultant.

With early polls showing Obama leading potential Republican rivals,he has announced his bid for re-election on Monday and is set file campaign papers with the Federal Election Commission.

That would allow him to start campaign fund-raising and much of his war chest is expected to come from the kind of big-money donations he has criticized in the past.

This time,the former Illinois senator is no longer the fresh political face seeking to become the first black U.S. president. His 2012 campaign will be a bigger,slicker machine likely to dwarf that of his eventual Republican opponent.

Aides note the huge number of individual donors who gave to Obama’s campaign — a record 4 million. But only 25 percent of the money came from small donors who gave $200 or less,according to the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute in Washington.

Obama will inevitably lose many of the individual donors who backed him four years ago,said Anthony Corrado,a professor of government at Colby College and expert on campaign fundraising.

“That’s something that we’re not going to see this time around,that level of excitement about the Obama candidacy that we saw last time,from people who are not traditional donors or traditional Democratic primary voters,” he said.

COULD RAISE $1 BILLION

Obama amassed a record $750 million as he surged to victory in 2008. His 2012 campaign total is expected to hit $1 billion or more,even without a major Democratic primary opponent or the emergence of a strong Republican contender.

“It’s definitely within reach,as he raised three quarters of a billion last time. As the incumbent president it’s quite plausible to imagine him raising $1 billion,” said CFI Executive Director Michael Malbin.

Jim Messina,a former White House deputy chief of staff who will run Obama’s campaign,has been telling big supporters they will need to collect $350,000 each. His campaign headquarters will be in Chicago will be staffed with White House veterans.

Obama made his message clear on Tuesday at a $30,800-plate fund-raiser at a popular New York restaurant.

“I could not do what I do… if I didn’t know that I had a lot of people out there rooting for me and a lot of friends supporting me,” Obama told donors at the dinner,which raised $1.5 million for the Democratic National Committee.