Clinton Finance Chair Says Defection Is No Big Deal

Hassan Nemazee, a finance chair for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, said he was not surprised by the defection of fund-raiser Gabriel Guerra-Mondragon to the Obama campaign.

"He came to me yesterday and gave me a heads-up," said Nemazee. "I like Gabriel and I consider him a friend. The reality is that as much as we don't want to see anybody leaving the fold and we are disappointed in his decision, from the standpoint of the campaign he certainly wasn't and isn’t counted on as being one of the main participants in the finance-related or non-finance-related activities of the campaign and we wish him well."

He added, "I do draw your attention to the fact that we have had Obama people come over to the campaign including Bob Farmer, former national treasurer of the John Kerry finance organization." Farmer decided to support Clinton sometime late last year.

To underscore what he described as the health of Clinton's fund-raising, Nemazee pointed to the $10 million that came in online following her victory in Pennsylvania. He also said that an event held in Houston last night with President Bill Clinton was a "big success" that raised $150,000, with the bulk of the money coming from new donors.