$3 Million Expected as Clinton Attends 3 Davis Fund-Raisers

President Clinton lent his political muscle to Democrat Gray Davis’ campaign for governor Tuesday, appearing at three fund-raisers in California that were expected to bring in $3 million.

The draw from one day of fund-raising by Clinton for one candidate was exceptional--even for a president with an extraordinary amount of energy for raising money.

“I don’t remember him doing it for a candidate; I do remember him doing it for the party,” said Doug Sosnik, an advisor for the president.

Spokesman Joe Lockhart joked that the president would spend just as much time raising money for the Democratic candidates for governor of all other states with as many electoral votes as California.

Lockhart added that he expected Clinton to return to California to raise more money for Davis before the election in November.

He is motivated by “a combination of how many electoral votes California has and how close the race is,” Lockhart said.

The first event was a luncheon for 700 guests in San Francisco’s St. Francis Hotel, which was expected to raise at least $1 million. Clinton flew to Los Angeles for back-to-back dinners at the estates of two of Los Angeles’ biggest Democratic supporters, Bruce Karatz, the state’s largest home builder, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, a founder of the DreamWorks studios.

Each of those events also was expected to bring in $1 million.