Chapter 15
One significant development in the financing of the 2008 presidential primaries and caucuses was the success Democratic candidate Barack Obama enjoyed in raising many small donations using the Internet. According to the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute, Obama raised $101 million in small individual contributions of $200 or less through March 31, 2008. The vast majority of these small donations were made through the Internet. As compared to larger donations solicited directly from individuals, these Internet donations offered Obama numerous advantages: (1) they provided his campaign with broad-based funding at no cost, as compared to more expensive methods such as events, telemarketing, and direct mail; (2) they required little time or effort on the part of the candidate himself; and (3) they filled the campaign’s coffers without the risk of influence buying that accompanies larger contributions from a smaller number of individuals. Howard Dean, a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2004, became the first presidential candidate to tap funds so successfully in this way—his campaign raised $50 million in the third quarter of 2003 with an average donation size of $80. In 2008, Obama refined and built on Dean’s model, helping Obama secure his party’s presidential nomination.