If political contributions are any barometer of how people will vote, Hillary Clinton won't be picking up many votes in Bend.
A look at the latest numbers on The Huffington Post's "Fundrace" site shows Barack Obama out-raising Clinton here by a better than 5-1 ratio. Through the first quarter of 2008, Obama had collected almost $41,000 from residents of the 97701 and 97702 Zip codes, the bulk of it in contributions of less than $1,000, while Clinton had picked up only about $8,000.
Top local Obama donors included Robert Smith, president of TSI Manufacturing LLC, and Loren Smith, a teacher at Central Oregon Community College, who gave a combined total of $3,300; and Paul Van Camp, a physician, and Robert Cohen, retired, who gave $2,300 each.
Probably the most well-known local Obama contributor is Ben Westlund, a former Republican who switched parties and is running for Oregon state treasurer as a Democrat. He gave the Illinois senator $500.
Oddly, Bend Democrats so far have out-contributed Bend Republicans, $52,756 to $41,974. But that's presumably because the race for the Democratic nomination is still competitive, while John McCain sewed up the Republican nomination months ago.
