Role of big donors rising for Obama

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Probable Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama is relying on traditional big-money donors as well as small gifts from Internet users, records show.

Although Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, emphasizes the role of mostly younger donors giving $200 or less via the Internet, the percentage of big-money "bundled" contributions is increasing as his campaign nears this month's Democratic National Convention in Denver, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The latest records show that one-third of Obama's record-breaking $340 million in campaign contributions has come from donations of $1,000 or more, a total of $112 million, which is more than likely Republican Party presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Obama is relying on tried-and-true Democratic fundraisers for the money, including many of the top givers to the 2004 presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

The "bundlers" are generally organized along four major industry lines, the newspaper said, concentrated in the legal, securities and investments, real estate and entertainment fields. Traditional big Democratic Party donors in those industries have been courted by Obama since he first won election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, the Times said.