Politics

Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, gave more than 16 percent of their income to charity in 2010 and 2011, according to tax returns made public Tuesday. Romney, the Republican candidate for president, had been facing mounting public pressure to release his tax returns. Newt Gingrich, who is challenging Romney and others for the Republican nomination, disclosed recently that he had donated 2.6 percent of his income to charity in 2010.

Britain's three main party leaders, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband, have all promised to leave a tenth of their wealth to charity when they die.

President Barack Obama raked in more than $68 million combined for his re-election campaign and the Democratic Party during the final three months of 2011, gearing up for a formidable challenge against his Republican opponent later this year. The large fundraising quarter helped Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee surpass $220 million in 2011, bankrolling the president's re-election campaign as Republicans settle on a nominee. Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney raised $56 million for the primary through Dec. 31, his campaign announced Wednesday, far outpacing his GOP opponents.

The Republican Governors Association raised $44.1 million in 2011, more than doubling its fundraising total from 2007, the last comparable election year. The RGA also carried forward into 2012 $26.6 million, giving the RGA more cash on hand than any other political party committee. The RGA’s fundraising haul far outpaced the Democratic Governors Association, which raised $20 million in 2011.

Political campaigns are gambling on a new fundraising strategy: the lottery. Sweepstakes-style pitches, which have this month come from President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney among others, offer supporters a shot at winning face time with the candidates.

But the contests’ fine print reveal guidelines that favor some donors over others and disqualify others altogether, reflecting just how eager politicians are to woo key voting blocs.

President Barack Obama's re-election campaign and the Democratic Party have set a combined fundraising goal of $60 million for the final three months of 2011, an amount that would help them surpass $200 million for 2011. Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee have collected $156 million through the end of September and would easily push past $200 million if the goal is met. The campaign and DNC raised about $70 million from July through late September.

Top-level Jewish fundraisers from President Obama’s 2008 campaign are sticking with the president in 2012. Despite reports that President Obama faces a loss of Jewish funders due to his Middle East policy, analysis of a list of elite bundlers from his 2008 race shows no defections among the president’s top Jewish supporters in 2012.

In 2008, Obama’s elite “bundlers” — fund raisers who collected more than $500,000 each for the president’s campaign — included many prominent Jews.

Republicans collected more money than Democrats in party fundraising in November, as the two parties race to build strong war chests heading into next year's elections.

The Republican National Committee raised $7.1 million in November while the Democratic National Committee brought in $6.7 million during the month.

The RNC has $14.1 million in the bank through the end of the month, compared with $10.5 million for Democrats.

Representatives of Americans Elect have spent the last two years crossing America to collect enough signatures to put a third candidate on the 2012 presidential ballot.

Americans Elect has approximately 400 people working to get enough signatures in every state, 3 million total, to gain ballot access for the third candidate. The candidate would be elected in an online primary in June 2012 and would then appear on the ballot in November 2012 for the presidential election.

Kim Cubine shares political fundraising takeaways for the 2012 presidential election cycle offered at the panel discussion “The Great Debate: Channel Wars — Red vs. Blue, Old vs. New.”