Election 2008: Obama raises more than $70,000 from Madison region in fourth quarter

As we approach Super Tuesday it is looking more and more like the Wisconsin primary on February 19 will play an important role in selecting at the least a Democratic candidate for President. The state hasn't been polled in months, but a quick look at the fourth quarter fundraising in 2007 suggests that Madison, in terms of giving away greenbacks, is firmly behind Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Obama pulled in more than four times that of New York Senator Hillary Clinton from the Madison region. Madison also gave Obama more money in the fourth quarter than any other region of the entire state - including Milwaukee which leads in overall Obama fundraising.

The former first lady currently vying to be the Democratic nominee for President pulled in only $15,835 in the Madison area while her competitor managed to rake in a whopping $71,974.

The Obama number is substantial if one considers that in the first three quarters of 2007 combined he generated $64,265 in the Madison region (including Monona and Fitchburg), so he more than matched nine months worth of fundraising. Clinton in that same time span brought in $22,792.

The only other region of the state that has given more than the Madison region to Obama is not surprisingly the Milwaukee region which has raised $205,624 overall. However, Madison Obama supporters crushed Milwaukee Obama supporters in fundraising during the fourth quarter - Milwaukee gave the Illinois Senator $22,935.

Did Obama making an appearance in Madison on October 15 have an impact on his fourth quarter fundraising? Here are his donor numbers broken down by month:

October: 87 ($32,340)
November: 74 ($21,914)
December: 113 ($17,720)

Overall in the state of Wisconsin Obama leads all other candidates still in the running. During 2007 he was able to raise $558,120 followed by Clinton who raised $180,583. Arizona Senator John McCain is the next closest with $179,799 followed by Texas Representative Ron Paul with $157,279, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with $143,144, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee failing to crack the six digit club only raising $45,781.

Those numbers on the state level for Republicans in Wisconsin aren't reflective of the Madison region. Romney brought in the most funds from this region in 2007 with a total of $11,400. However, any interest he may have generated early on seems to have petered out in the fourth quarter as he was only able to raise $1000. Paul was the Republican fourth quarter leader. He generated $9209 to add to the $1098 he had raised over the previous three quarters. McCain's maverick reputation seems to be lost on Madisonians. Over all of 2007 he was only able to raise $4040 in Madison. And Huckabee, he gets a big goose egg for the year.

Information calculated using data provided by the Federal Elections Commission website.