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Ridgewoods Josh Gottheimer once wrote speeches for Bill Clinton. Now, hes trying to raise millions for Hillary Clinton.

As the New Jersey political establishment awaits word from Republican Governor Christie on a possible run for president in 2016, Garden State Democrats have launched an early and aggressive effort to raise as much as $5 million to $10 million for what they hope will become a Hillary Clinton campaign.

The informal group, which held two recent preorganizing meetings in late October and last month at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, is strictly a volunteer effort and conducted without the involvement or blessing of Clinton or her top associates.

But the Democrats are operating under the assumption that Clinton will announce her campaign early next year, and they want to greet the new candidate with a stack of fundraising commitments, possibly on the very day she announces.

There is and was and continues to be an incredible eagerness to start a campaign, if there is to be a campaign, said Michael Kempner, a public relations executive from Cresskill and a leading national Democratic Party fundraiser who is mobilizing the early Jersey effort with Josh Gottheimer, a onetime speechwriter for former President Bill Clinton.

So we have the ability to capture that sentiment and organize it, Kempner said.

The effort is also far more extensive than six years ago, when a deep-pocketed round table of Democratic operatives dubbed The Group mobilized to raise money for Hillary Clintons first bid for president.

This time, organizers are widening the circle, enlisting a range of influential Democrats including allies of New Jerseys U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker and power brokers like the South Jersey party leader George Norcross as well as legislators, county chairmen and veteran street operatives.

Several factors are at work this time. Democrats are hoping that an early cash haul will build stronger ties with Clinton, even though its unlikely that she would spend much time in New Jersey cultivating voters and supporters during the campaign.

Read more here:
Stile: Hillary Clinton's New Jersey backers mobilize fundraising efforts