Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., spoke to more than 200 guests at the Alpine Country Club in Cranston on Thursday. The private fundraiser for the Obama Victory Fund was thrown by the Rhode Island Democratic Party, which allowed the Brown Democrats to bring along 40 students, free of charge.
No word was released on how much money the event raised, but donors were asked to contribute a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $28,500 - the most a private donor can contribute to a national political party per calendar year.
In addition to the collegians and donors, the event attracted a number of higher-ups in the Rhode Island political scene. Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts '78, Attorney General Patrick Lynch '87 and Speaker of the House of Representatives William Murphy were in attendance, according to Brown Democrats President Harrison Kreisberg '10.
Biden spoke at length about challenges the campaign would face and the importance of voting for Sen. Barack Obama, said Max Chaiken '09, deputy field officer for the Rhode Island for Obama campaign, president of Brown Students for Barack Obama and a Herald opinions columnist.
"It was part stump speech, part call to action," Chaiken said. "Even though it seems Barack is ahead in some of the polls, that's no reason to stop working hard."
Kreisberg said he got a chance to speak briefly with Biden, who expressed enthusiasm and gratitude for the amount of student involvement in the campaign in Rhode Island.