Obama takes biggest cash haul from Mass.

When fundraiser Alan Solomont gathered Barack Obama's New England Finance Steering Committee in Boston last week for a post-election celebration, he shared with the group a series of statistics that he said testified to their success.

The committee's 742 members had held 89 meetings and 167 fundraising events, while campaigning on behalf of Obama in 28 states over the course of the campaign. They helped to outraise John McCain's campaign in the five New England states by $28.6 million, through the latest federal filings in mid-October, according to Solomont's calculations.

But one statistic brought Solomont more pride than any other: the $21.4 million that Obama raised in Massachusetts made it his most lucrative state on a per-capita-basis. Obama raised $3.31 per Massachusetts resident and $2.91 per Vermonter -- more than he took in from New York ($2.62) and California ($2.29), traditionally among the greenest pastures for Democrats. By Solomont's measure, Massachusetts even outperformed Obama's home state, Illinois, which contributed $2.42 per capita to his campaign.

"I know how hard you worked from the beginning of this improbable journey, how well organized you were and how successful was your record of fundraising," Obama wrote the committee in a letter Solomont distributed to members. "And yes I do know that Massachusetts raised more per capita than any other state in the country."