WASHINGTON--U.S. Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg released the names of his major fundraisers, bowing to growing pressure from rival Elizabeth Warren and U.S. journalists to be more transparent in his campaign.
The list of 113 people includes everyone who has raised at least $25,000 for his campaign as bundlers, a common fundraising practice in which typically wealthy supporters arrange for groups of individuals to all make large donations at once, often at a reception for the candidate.
Wall Street executives and prominent Democratic fundraisers are among those named, including the hedge fund manager Orin Kramer; Hamilton James, executive vice chairman of the private equity firm Blackstone; and Adam Bart, a partner at McKinsey & Company, the consulting firm where Buttigieg worked in his 20s.
Individuals can donate up to $2,800 to a campaign under current federal limits. Fundraisers who bundle many such contributions together can provide a major source of revenue for campaigns, often gaining access to the candidate in exchange.
Earlier this week in New York, Buttigieg began opening his fundraisers to press coverage for the first time. As he has risen from his relatively obscure position as the mayor of the small city of South Bend, Indiana, Buttigieg has faced criticism from Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, to disclose more about his financial backers.
Warren and Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont also seeking the Democratic nomination, have shunned courting wealthy fundraisers, instead favouring grassroots campaign financing through small-dollar amounts sent in by hundreds of thousands of supporters. Others, like former Vice President Joe Biden, still hold traditional big-money fundraisers, but allowed press access from the start, leaving Buttigieg facing prickly questions from reporters in recent weeks as to why he would not do the same.
