I just asked Hillary Clinton’s finance chair Hassan Nemazee about accounts from other Clinton donors of Obama bundlers contacting them about the possibility of coming over to the campaign.
"There is only one instance that I know of in which a Clinton donor went over to the Obama campaign," said Nemazee. "I remain convinced, until shown otherwise, that donors, be they in New York or elsewhere, are sticking with Hillary and the campaign."
He added, "I would like, in my role, to hopefully be welcoming the Obama people over to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. But obviously, we’re at a point in the campaign where both common sense and the political reality is indicating that that’s not one of my priorities at the moment. What I can say is, if I were the national finance chair of the presumed nominee, I would do everything in my power to welcome supporters of the opposing side into the campaign as much as possible."
He said that he had in fact done as much when he was in a similar position.
"When it became clear in 2004 that John Kerry was the candidate I went out of my way to not only welcome people who were working for other candidates, I went out of my way to personally encourage people working for other candidates to get involved with the Kerry campaign and to make sure they felt they had a place at the table and make sure they felt not only welcome but were very welcome."
Nemazee said that, despite the often tense nature of the race, the relations among the upper echelons of the two campaigns’ fund-raising structures have always been civil.
"I have had and continue to have a personally good relationship with all the people in the Obama finance operation and I’ve never felt any disinclination to speak with them or talk to them about where we stand or how we possibly could be helpful to one another," he said.
Nemazee also said he sees no reason for Hillary Clinton not to continue her pursuit of the nomination, given that there are only three weeks left on the primary calendar and because she will have the resources to compete in states which have inexpensive media markets. Just yesterday, he said, the campaign raised $1 million at a D.C. fund-raiser.
