Small-dollar donors a boon for Democrats

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., April 10 (UPI) -- Small-dollar donors are largely keeping presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the race for the White House, campaign finance records show.

In a report Thursday, The Boston Globe called Edith Allen of Palm Springs, Calif., a typical donor. She has given Clinton $365 through February, and plans to give again before the April 22 Pennsylvania primary -- which is widely regarded as crucial to determining the outcome of the race for the Democratic nomination.

"I help as much as I can -- 100 there, 15 there, 10 there," said Allen, who has never before donated to a politician. "It's a big deal for me."

Allen is among hundreds of thousands of low-dollar donors this election cycle, the newspaper said.

Through February, Clinton and Obama had raised a combined $109.4 million in primary campaign funds from contributors giving $200 or less, said The Campaign Finance Institute, a non-partisan Washington research center.

Obama raised $76.3 million to Clinton's $33.1 million, the Finance Institute said.