Former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D., Neb.), who is currently running again in 2012, hauled in $30,000 worth of campaign contributions over the last few days, all of it from out-of-state donors, including left-wing songstress Barbra Streisand, the New York Times reports.
While raising money from groups outside of one’s home state is nothing new, Mr. Kerrey’s recent haul – which includes a $1,000 donation from Barbra Streisand and $5,000 from S. Parker Gilbert, the former chairman of Morgan Stanley – will no doubt provide fodder for Republican critics who have mocked his return to Nebraska after a decade in New York City to run for his old seat.
Mr. Kerrey, who is trying to capture the seat that Senator Ben Nelson, a fellow Democrat, will vacate at the end of the year, will face the Republican contender who survives the state’s May 15 primary.
Kerrey is not the only Democratic Senate candidate to rely heavily on out-of-state contributions. Native American law professor Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) raked in $6.9 million in the first quarter of 2012, more than 60 percent of which came from donors outside Massachusetts.