Half of inaugural bundlers have yet to donate


Alexander Cohen - Posted on 16 December 2008

The Presidential Inaugural Committee has raised more than three-quarters of its total so far through bundlers, but slightly fewer than half of these bundlers have contributed any of their own money, according to its newly updated list of bundlers for the inauguration. The committee updated its list this morning, according to the update time listed on the page. (More after the jump.)

The 59 inaugural bundlers on the list have together raised about $7.6 million of the $9.7 million total (78 percent) that the committee has disclosed. So far, the PIC lists only 28 bundlers (including bundler couples) who have actually given money of their own to the inauguration. They have contributed almost $1.4 million.

Ten of those listed have bundled the maximum permitted by the PIC, $300,000, including three of Obama's top-tier ($500,000-plus) campaign bundlers. Also bundling $300,000 to the PIC are Penny Pritzker, co-chair of inauguration committee and the finance chair for the Obama presidential committee, who bundled $200,000-plus for Obama's campaign. In total, there are 24 former campaign bundlers on the list of inaugural bundlers. Together they have raised $3 million, almost a third of the committee's reported total. Eleven of the inaugural bundlers, including some of the campaign bundlers, gave $277,000 combined to the Obama presidential campaign's joint-fundraising operation with the Democratic National Committee.

The inaugural bundler list is missing three names from the committee's initial drop last Friday. They are:

  • Ed Haddock
  • Alex Heckler
  • Don Hinkle

Bea Welters was added to the list over the weekend. Her name has also disappeared. Her tally was listed on Sunday at $300,000 and dropped to $100,000 Monday before being removed from the list entirely this morning.