President Barack Obama will formally announce his re-election campaign with an online video that aides will post on his new campaign website, Democratic insiders tell National Journal.
The exact date and time of the announcement will be kept under wraps until Obama’s team alerts supporters with text messages and email. By that time, Obama will have opened his campaign account with the Federal Election Commission.
But Democratic donors are being told that the announcement will coincide with a Democratic National Committee fundraiser set for April 14 in Chicago, which Obama will attend.
The campaign could use the video to begin soliciting donations, according to National Journal.
President George W. Bush didn’t announce his re-election campaign until May of 2003. But Democrats close to the president are concerned that independent opposition groups will soon begin airing their television ads.
One of those groups, American Crossroads — with former Bush staffer Karl Rove as an adviser — is seeking to raise at least $130 million for the election cycle, on top of money allocated by the Chamber of Commerce and other Republican-leaning groups.
