Clinton supporters lend Obama a big financial hand

Apparently heeding Hillary Rodham Clinton’s plea to heal the rift in the Democratic Party, her donors gave as much as $1.6 million to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign last month, campaign finance reports show.

Obama’s donors, however, were not quite as quick to send money Clinton’s way.

Despite a request from the presumed Democratic nominee that his top contributors help Clinton retire half of her $25-million campaign debt, she received a modest $105,000 in June from only a handful of Obama partisans, a Times analysis of Federal Election Commission records shows.

On Monday, an Obama campaign aide said that at least 400 of Obama’s donors had given to Clinton. But most gave after the June 30 filing deadline, meaning the donors won’t become public until August.

Altogether, Obama raised $51.89 million in June. Clinton raised $2.7 million, and the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, $22 million.

After Clinton suspended her campaign in June, she and Obama made a show of reconciliation. Clinton called 100 of her top donors to the Mayflower Hotel in Washington to urge that they help her former rival win the White House.

And Obama sent an e-mail to his largest fundraisers, asking that they help Clinton pay the debt she owes to vendors -- about $12 million, according to her campaign finance report filed Sunday.

Obama gave her a personal check, but it did not show up in the latest report. Nor did a check from Chicago executive Penny Pritzker, Obama’s campaign finance chairwoman. Clinton did receive the maximum amount, $2,300, from Obama’s chief strategist, David Axelrod, in June.

Far more Clinton partisans gave to Obama. The former candidate gave Obama $2,300, as did her husband, President Clinton. James Carville and Paul Begala also chipped in with $2,300 checks.

The Times analysis shows Obama received $1.6 million in June from donors who had given to Clinton since January 2007.

At least 300 Clinton donors gave Obama the maximum $2,300 that an individual can contribute to a candidate for the primary. Several gave an additional $2,300 for the general election. Altogether, high-end Clinton donors accounted for $802,000 to Obama.

Clinton collected maximum $2,300 donations from 11 Obama donors, totaling $25,300.

Many Clinton donors said they were sending money to Obama simply because they wanted to see a Democrat win the White House.

“When Hillary was running, we supported her. But once it was clear that he was the candidate, we switched,” said George Vos of Stamford, Conn., who donated $2,300 to Obama last month. “It was more of a process than an epiphany.”

Eunice Harvey, 84, a retired school administrator in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., had given $1,450 to Clinton. So far, she has donated $200 to Obama.

“I supported her because I knew more about her work,” Harvey said. “But I’m learning more about [Obama] now, and I don’t have any problem supporting him now that he’s going to be the nominee.”

But it is clear that some Clinton supporters remain angry.

Carolyn Greer of Ocala, Fla., gave Clinton $45.60 last month. In the box where she was supposed to write in her occupation, Greer wrote “none -- do not give Obama m,” an apparent reference to “money.”

Clinton’s debt includes $13 million she lent to her campaign. Her biggest creditor is the consulting firm Penn, Schoen & Berland, founded by her former chief strategist, Mark Penn. Clinton owes Penn’s firm $5.27 million.

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dan.morain@latimes.com

kate.linthicum@latimes.com

Morain reported from Sacramento and Linthicum from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Mark Z. Barabak in San Francisco and researcher Maloy Moore in Los Angeles contributed to this report.