Obama's Former Campaign Manager to Fundraise for Gillibrand
Sunday, Jan 31, 2010 | Updated 3:15 PM EDT
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NEW YORK - APRIL 15: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) will get some help from a top Obama fundraiser.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is getting fundraising help from President Barack Obama's former campaign manager as she faces a possible primary challenge from Harold Ford Jr.
The Gillibrand campaign says David Plouffe will be the featured speaker at a Feb. 22 breakfast fundraiser at a New York City law firm.
Plouffe was recently tapped by the president to help keep tabs on 2010 midterm races. His planned appearance at the $250-a-ticket fundraiser is further evidence of White House support as Gillibrand seeks election to the Senate seat she has held for a year.
Ford, a former Tennessee congressman, has been meeting with voters and Democratic leaders across the state as he flirts with a possible primary challenge.
Despite raising $7.1 million last year -- including $1.6 million in the fourth quarter -- that war chest is likely to leave Gillibrand lagging behind many of her Senate colleagues as she heads toward a showdown with Ford in a state notoriously expensive federal races, the Albany Times Union reported.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York
