Sen. Barack Obama announced earlier this week that he had raised an earth-shattering $150 million for his presidential campaign in September — the newest record in a fundraising effort that has earned the Democratic hopeful over $600 million over the past two years.
But according to public campaign financing information, the candidate from Illinois' fundraising dominance has not quite extended to Tufts' left-leaning campus: Federal Election Commission records show that Tufts faculty and staff members gave more to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in his 2004 presidential bid than they have given to Obama in the current election cycle.
Through August, the most recent records available publicly, Tufts employees had donated $19,473 to the Obama campaign; through August 2004, Kerry had received $27,400 from the same group.
Political Science Professor Kent Portney said the difference could stem from a variety of factors, such as Kerry's local ties as a Massachusetts politician.
"I suppose that there are probably a fair number of people at Tufts who have some kind of connection to John Kerry because of his proximity to the university," Portney said.
But he also suggested that the long, drawn-out primary battle between
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