Comcast's Cohen raised $500,000 for Obama in 2012

Comcast Corp. executive David Cohen and his wife, Rhonda, raised more than $500,000 for President Obama's reelection campaign in 2012 from friends and associates, according to the Obama campaign.

The Cohens, go-to Democratic fund-raisers, and Mark Alderman of the law firm Cozen O'Connor L.L.P. were three of the top Philadelphia-area Obama bundlers - people who raise money beyond themselves for a candidate - in the fourth quarter. Others bundled between $50,000 and $500,000.

Cohen, a Democrat, recently made headlines when he confirmed that he expected to support Republican Gov. Corbett for reelection in 2014. Cohen and his wife raised about $200,000 for Corbett at a fund-raiser in their home in January, The Inquirer reported.

Cohen said Monday in an e-mail that he has had a long-term relationship with Obama, dating to when Obama was a state senator in Illinois, and a 20-year relationship with Vice President Biden.

"I know them personally, like and respect them, and believed that they were the superior choice," Cohen said.

Comcast's telecom and media businesses have numerous regulatory and legal issues in Washington related to the Internet and television. Cohen, who has responsibility for Comcast's Washington office and public relations, said his fund-raising was personal.

Alderman also raised money for Obama's 2008 presidential election campaign.

Gerald A. McHugh Jr., of the law firm Raynes McCarty, and Richard Horowitz, president and CEO of RAF Industries Inc., confirmed that they raised funds for the Obama campaign. The list placed McHugh in the $50,000 to $100,000 category and Horowitz in the $100,000 to $200,000 category.

"To be politically active in today's world necessarily means being involved in fund-raising," McHugh said in an e-mail. "I have raised funds for both Democrats and Republicans when I deemed the individual candidate to be worthy of support."

Daniel Berger, a Philadelphia lawyer, also confirmed that he had raised funds for Obama, in the $50,000 to $100,000 range.