Rep. Nita Lowey not only represents Hillary Rodham Clinton in Congress, but she is also one of the top fundraisers for Clinton's presidential campaign.
Lowey, whose Congressional district includes Clinton's residence in Chappaqua, was listed among more than 80 so-called HillRaisers - the Clinton campaign's name for people who collected more than $100,000 in contributions for the senator. Lowey was the only active member of Congress to be among the group, which was disclosed by the campaign this week.
"Hillary Clinton will be a great president, and I am doing everything I can to help elect her including fundraising and helping to secure endorsements," Lowey said in a statement yesterday.
The fundraising is the latest example of what seems to be Lowey's prominent role in Clinton's presidential campaign. The Harrison Democrat was among the first members of New York's congressional delegation that Clinton consulted when she was deciding whether to run for president and she was recently asked by the candidate to help secure the endorsement of other members of Congress, who serve as super delegates at the Democratic National Convention.
"Rep. Lowey has been a leader in both Congress and back home in New York for many years, and we are thrilled to have her support," Clinton spokesman Blake Zeff said yesterday.
Lowey's fundraising was part of an overall financial effort by Clinton that took in $36 million during the first quarter, including $10 million that was transferred from her 2006 Senate re-election campaign. Clinton's quarterly report to the Federal Elections Commission, which was filed Sunday, showed that the campaign still had $31 million on hand to spend as of March 31, the highest figure among the presidential contenders.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who is considered the biggest threat to Clinton's hopes of winning the Democratic nomination, reported having $19.2 million on hand at the end of the period. Obama's report to the FEC showed, however, that he raised more for the Democratic primary than Clinton. Obama raised $24.8 million in primary funds, compared to $19.1 million for Clinton.
Still, Clinton campaign officials said the senator's fundraising report showed that she had more than enough funds to successfully compete for the nomination.
"These numbers indicate the tremendous support for Senator Clinton from every walk of life and every part of America," Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle said.
The process by which Lowey and the other "HillRaisers" used to raise money for Clinton is known in political jargon as bundling. It is somewhat controversial because it allows individuals to get around federal contribution limits by collecting lots of smaller contributions and then presenting them to the candidate all at once.
"The way that you build influence in this age of contribution limits is that you get your friends, colleagues and co-workers to get write checks for a candidate," said Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics. "And then you present the checks to the candidate and you get all the credit."
Clinton and Obama are, so far, the only major presidential candidates to disclose the names of their bundlers, Ritsch said.
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