Top Fundraisers Earn Right to Party ($100,000 or more for Bush

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Republican delegates religion: Protestant 61%...Catholic 26%....Jewish 2%...Mormon 2%...Muslim 0.2%...None/not specified 8.8%. The Republican national convention Host Committee is spending $63.5 million (total expense is about $100 million.) with $5 million: Madison Square Garden rental, $1.5 million: transportation for staff and delegates, $8 million: parties, receptions and events -SOURCE: Campaign Finance Institute

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/complete/la-na-delegates31aug31,1,1345439.story?coll=la-elect2004-complete

Top Fundraisers Earn Right to Party ($100,000 or more for Bush -invited to be state delegate)
Those who raised $100,000 or more for Bush could get invited to be state delegates. They also enjoy special access and other perks as they schmooze with politicians.
By Lisa Getter and Susannah Rosenblatt
Times Staff Writers

August 31, 2004

NEW YORK — Cincinnati businessman Ron Beshear never thought he'd be chosen as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. But after raising more than $150,000 for President Bush's reelection effort, he got a phone call from the Ohio Republican Party.

"They just called and asked me if I wanted to be a delegate," said Beshear, 57. "I didn't ask."

Beshear is part of a new breed of fundraiser receiving special attention at this year's political conventions. Like his Democratic counterparts who are collecting money for John F. Kerry, he and other Republican fundraisers are being rewarded with coveted slots in state delegations.

Roughly one out of every five of Bush's top fundraisers — individuals who have raised $100,000 or more — is a delegate here.

When the Democrats held their national convention in Boston, about 17.5% of Kerry's top fundraisers — who raised $50,000 or more — attended as delegates.<snip>