Bush visit to rake in dollars for McCain

President Bush is set to headline a high-dollar campaign event in Phoenix later this month to benefit Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

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The May 27 fund-raiser at the Phoenix Convention Center is designed to appeal to deep-pocketed contributors who can donate as much as $37,000 at once.

The event actually is a joint production of seven different campaign organizations, which will allow contributors to spread their money around.

The organizations include John McCain 2008, John McCain 2008 General Election Compliance Fund, the Republican National Committee, and the state Republican parties for Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wisconsin.

McCain’s campaign is due for a financial boost if he hopes to keep pace with Democratic presidential aspirants Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Obama had raised more than $234.7 million and had $51 million cash on hand through the end of March, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Clinton had raised $189 million and had $31.7 million left.

Those tallies did not take into account campaign activity in the final weeks before Tuesday primary elections in Indiana and North Carolina, nor the $6.4 million the former first lady loaned her own campaign.

In contrast, McCain raised $80.6 million and had $11.6 million in cash at the end of March.

The first $2,300 from every contributor is earmarked for the John McCain 2008 committee, which is the candidate’s official campaign organization.

The next $2,300 is slated for the compliance fund, which is a source of revenue that’s intended to help defray certain allowable expenses, including office overhead and computer and Web site costs.

The balance of each contribution will be split evenly between the RNC and the state parties, which operate independently of McCain’s campaign and benefit Republican candidates at the national and state levels, respectively.

“Fundraising has certainly picked up since John McCain has become the presumptive Republican nominee,” said campaign spokeswoman Crystal Benton. “We also recognize there’s a long race ahead of us and we still have to keep pushing.”

Of the total amount McCain has raised to date, he has pulled $3.6 million from his home state. His top state for contributions is California at $8 million, followed by Texas at $5.4 million, New York at $5.3 million and Florida at $5 million. Arizona is fifth.

Arizona Democratic Party spokeswoman Emily Bittner said it’s fitting that Bush is lined up as the featured speaker at McCain’s event in Phoenix.

“This is further evidence that what John McCain really represents is a third Bush term,” she said.