Long before he clinched the presidential nomination, Barack Obama promised Texas Democrats that he would return to help them raise money for state and local races.

That, state party officials say privately, meant appearing at at least one fundraiser in Texas.

Mr. Obama will be in Houston for a July 31 fundraiser, his campaign told The Dallas Morning News on Friday. But it's for his national campaign, not the Texas party.

Dallas Democrats are also expecting Mr. Obama to make a visit here, perhaps on the same date or in early August.

Texas Democrats have been long annoyed by national party leaders who turn the state into a giant ATM, taking money to campaign elsewhere while leaving local candidates to scrap for the remaining resources.

Mr. Obama campaigned in Texas before the March 4 primary and attended a fundraiser for the state party in February. He's already promised to send staffers to Texas and help down-ballot candidates get elected. But he hasn't said when he'll return to raise money.

Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, Mr. Obama's point-man in Texas, said he was aware of the agreement but didn't know how it would be honored.

Mr. Kirk said the realities of running for president have trumped all other endeavors.

"Our first priority is making sure he has the resources for his campaign," Mr. Kirk said.

Print

E-mail this article

Forums

Check Screen Name Availability

Screen names can only consist of letters and numbers.

---

Leave Comment

Conversation guidelines: We welcome your thoughts and information related to this article. When leaving comments please stay on topic and be respectful of others.

You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!

You are logged in as screenname | Log Out

You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Update Your Profile

Showing:

Newest first Oldest first

---