Barack Obama will venture into Hillary Rodham Clinton‘s turf today, coming back from his New Hampshire loss with a rally across the river in New Jersey and then a megabucks fund-raiser in Midtown tonight.
The candidate will start replenishing his coffers with an event at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on East 42nd Street this evening – a bash that’s proven so popular that campaign officials had to turn away prospective donors willing to pay $2,300 to meet Obama at a private reception before the main event.
“It’s like it was in the spring,” said one source familiar with the frenetic pace at which money has been arriving.
The event is closed to the public and press. In fact, Obama’s only public appearance will be at a kickoff rally in Jersey City for canvassers looking to broaden his support in the Garden State – which, like New York, votes on Super Tuesday, Feb. 5.
The Jersey City and Midtown events will be his first major appearances here since he and Clinton each split the first two votes.
And it comes as the two are locked in a protracted fight for donors so they can stay competitive until the Feb. 5 primaries.
Obama’s team is led by adviser
The in-your-face visit also comes at a time when the Obama campaign is hoping to pick off large-scale donors and bundlers who are feeling on edge about staying with Team Clinton.
There were media reports that the local union UNITE is preparing to back Obama, although a spokesman refused to comment.