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WASHINGTON

Obama heading to Maine in March for 'money trip'

WASHINGTON -- President Obama will visit Maine next month to raise money for his re-election campaign, according to the White House and the Maine Democratic Party.

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President Obama will visit Maine in March and hold two fundraisers.

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Obama will attend two fundraisers on March 30, probably in the Portland area, but details are not yet set, said Lizzy Reinholt, spokeswoman for the Maine Democratic Party.

The White House confirmed that the visit will be a campaign stop, not an official White House trip. Reinholt said her understanding is that none of Obama's events will be public, but one of the fundraisers may be open to news media coverage.

Obama's re-election campaign had received $534,389 from Maine contributors as of Dec. 31, according to figures compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign finance research organization in Washington.

Obama raises much more money from larger states. Massachusetts donors, for instance, have given his campaign more than $3.5 million to date. New York donors have given more than $7.4 million.

The Obama campaign had taken in more than $125 million overall as of Dec. 31, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Obama isn't coming to Maine just to raise money, said Michael Cuzzi, a political and communications consultant in Portland who was the 2008 deputy state director for Obama's New Hampshire primary campaign.

"It's a money trip, but anytime the president comes to Maine or any other state, it is an opportunity for him to get his message out and speak directly with Mainers," said Cuzzi, a volunteer on the 2012 Obama campaign.

Cuzzi said he doesn't know what is planned for the Maine fundraisers. Typically, one event is geared toward "small-dollar, grass-roots donors, giving regular people, working-class Mainers, the opportunity to hear directly from the president," he said.

Obama won Maine in 2008 with 58 percent of the vote, to Republican John McCain's 40 percent.

Maine Republican Party Chairman Charlie Webster said Obama might have fundraising success in Maine, but that doesn't mean he will capture the state again in November.

"He will raise money here, and I understand why he is coming here to raise money," Webster said Monday. "But I don't think this is the same state it was before. Maine is not left-of-center, and I think that his chances are diminished here compared with four years ago. I believe we can win Maine this time."

First lady Michelle Obama was in Maine in September, also to raise 2012 campaign cash. She was the featured attraction at fundraisers at a home in Cape Elizabeth and at the Ocean Gateway terminal in Portland.

The fundraiser in Cape Elizabeth was hosted by Karen Harris and Bonnie Porta, co-chairwomen of the Obama for ME Finance Committee, and held at Porta's home. Porta is married to Robert C.S. Monks, a real estate developer and minority owner of MaineToday Media, which publishes the Kennebec Journal.

The president was last in Maine in July 2010, when he and his family vacationed on Mount Desert Island.

Jonathan Riskind -- 791-6280

jriskind@mainetoday.com

Twitter: MaineTodayDC