In fine print, a proliferation of large donors

Individuals are normally limited to contributing $2,300 to presidential candidates for the primary and another $2,300 for the general election. But the joint fund-raising committees allow donors to enjoy the clout that comes with writing a single large check that can cover the maximum contributions to the candidates, as well as $28,500 to the national party. In Mr. McCain’s case, that check could also include $10,000 apiece for several state parties and $2,300 to a legal compliance fund for the general election. The money directed to the national and state parties can then be used to help the candidates under certain restrictions.

More than 1,800 people had donated $25,000 or more as of the end of September to Mr. McCain through his various “victory” committees, according to Federal Election Commission filings and data compiled by Public Citizen, a nonpartisan watchdog group. More than 300 people had contributed $50,000 or more.

As for Mr. Obama, about 2,000 people had donated $25,000 or more to his joint fund-raising committees through September, including more than 500 who have given $30,000 or more.

McCain finance officials introduced their main joint fund-raising committee, McCain Victory 2008, in the spring. Mr. McCain was still able to accept primary money, so money was divided between his primary campaign coffers, the Republican National Committee, several state parties and his compliance fund, for a maximum check of $70,100.

Mr. McCain is now taking public financing for the general election, but he has continued to raise money through his joint fund-raising committees, something that frustrates campaign finance watchdogs, because they argue that a goal of public financing is to get candidates out of the private money-raising business.

“It undermines the whole spirit of the system,” said David Arkush, director of Congress Watch at Public Citizen.

Indeed, Mr. McCain collected $10.6 million just last week for the Republican Party at an event in New York he headlined with his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

The largest donors typically get V.I.P. treatment at fund-raisers, including dinner and a photo with the candidate.

Gordon V. Smith, a Maryland home builder, and his wife, Helen, gave $67,800 each to Mr. McCain this year and attended a fund-raiser at the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner, Va. Mr. Smith was later invited to an intimate dinner for major donors with Rick Davis, the McCain campaign manager. Mr. Smith, who said he was a staunch believer in free enterprise, called the meeting a “stroke” for big donors but said he had had a chance to offer some policy ideas. “Will the campaign talk to any donor? Even if you give 10 bucks, they’ll talk to you, but you might talk to a volunteer,” he said.

Arguably the biggest whales of all are the several dozen who contributed $70,000 or more to Mr. McCain. They included Marvin Gilliam, an executive at Cumberland Resources, a Virginia coal-mining company where several top officials made sizable contributions to Mr. McCain, as well as Mr. Gilliam’s wife, Marcia; Joe Ricketts, founder of the securities firm TD Ameritrade; and Meg Whitman, former chief executive of eBay and a prominent McCain surrogate, who contributed a total of $92,400, according to F.E.C. records, although some will apparently need to be refunded because of federal contribution limits.

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The Obama Victory Fund funnels money to his campaign coffers and the Democratic National Committee. The largest check a donor could write for the primary and the general elections was $33,100. Mr. Obama also has a separate committee that distributes money to 18 battleground states.

More than 500 donors contributed more than $30,000 each to Mr. Obama. They included James E. Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy, a power company based in Charlotte, N.C.; Melanie Griffith, the actress; and John M. Noel, chief executive of Travel Guard, an affiliate of the insurance giant AIG.

Kitty Bennett contributed reporting.

This article, "In Fine Print, a Proliferation of Large Donors", first appeared in The New York Times.

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