Long Islanders donate most to Clinton

BY REID J. EPSTEIN | reid.epstein@newsday.com

February 4, 2008

Long Islanders gave almost as much money to Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign in 2007 as the other major candidates combined, a Newsday analysis of Federal Election Commission data shows.

The finding comes as Clinton, the New York Democratic senator, and her rival for the nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, scramble to shore up financial support from former backers of John Edwards, who dropped out of the race last week.

Nassau Democratic party leader Jay Jacobs, who has raised nearly $800,000 for Clinton during the campaign, said he began pressing Edwards supporters for contributions as soon as word came that the former North Carolina senator was dropping out.

"I'm on the phone trying to encourage them to help us," said Jacobs.

Any money Jacobs raises from Long Island would only boost Clinton's edge here. In 2007, she raised $3.03 million from ZIP codes in Nassau and Suffolk, dwarfing Obama's $493,102.

Obama's Long Island campaign chairman, Suffolk Legis. Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor), said his candidate's local fundraising has picked up since Jan. 3, when Obama won the Iowa caucuses. Any fundraising since Jan. 1 is not reflected in the latest FEC figures.

"Six months ago, when I was trying to get people to donate, it was tough," Cooper said. "Since Iowa, that's when things began to change. Now, forget it, people are contacting me, asking when there's going to be an event."

Cooper said he is hoping to raise $250,000 in each of two planned fundraisers for Obama for the late spring and early summer - one in Nassau or western Suffolk and one in the Hamptons.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani outpaced GOP candidates on Long Island, raising $1.88 million. His departure from the race and subsequent endorsement of Arizona Sen. John McCain leaves McCain's skeleton campaign here scrambling to corral support.

"It's already happening," said Grant Lally, a Mineola attorney who was one of McCain's few early backers here. "All of this is moving very quickly. It's great to see the support; we welcome it, and it's great that everyone is working together as a team to help John McCain."

McCain raised $821,958 from Long Island in 2007. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, whose vast personal wealth makes him the GOP candidate with the largest campaign war chest, raised $281,436 from Nassau and Suffolk.

Jacobs said it has been difficult to raise money for Clinton recently because so many people who are willing to give the maximum contribution allowed by law already have done so. Individual donors can give each candidate up to $2,300 for use before the party convention and another $2,300 for use after the convention.

"A lot of people got tapped out very early," he said. "What I've begun doing is reaching out to supporters from other candidates who are no longer running."

WHAT THEY MADE ON LONG ISLAND

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

Nassau: $2,041,186

Suffolk: $991,458

Total: $3,032,644

Top Nassau Zip codes:

11791, Syosset - $140,570