Obama Sets New Digital Fundraising Record

In 2008, candidate Barack Obama harnessed the power of the internet and used it to raise record amounts of money. Most people didn't think he would be able to raise as much in 2012, since the economy had not improved as much as people had hoped and his approval ratings were not as high as they had been during the 2008 campaign. Well, it looks like those people underestimated the organizational and fundraising skils of the president and his campaign staff. Here are some figures that Time Magazine has published:

TOTAL DIGITAL FUNDRAISING (INCLUDING SOME LARGE FUNDRAISERS WHO LOGGED THEIR DONATIONS ONLINE):
2008...............$500 million
2012...............$690 million

FUNDS RAISED SOLELY THROUGH DIGITAL SITES (EMAIL, SOCIAL MEDIA, MOBILE, AND CAMPAIGN WEBSITE):
2008...............$403 million
2012...............$504 million

TOTAL NUMBER OF DONORS:
2008...............3.95 million
2012...............4.4 million

Those are all record numbers. And the total amount of money raised by the campaign from all sources (including affiliated party committees) is also a record. While numbers are still be added up, there is no doubt that the total will top $1 billion -- the first time any presidential campaign has reached that astounding figure.

Romney had a big edge in Wall Street donations and super-PAC money, but the president was able to offset that by making a brilliant use of the internet to directly appeal to small donors. It is a blueprint that all future candidates will study.