Hailed by gay political strategist David Mixner as “two of the best fund-raisers in the country,” business and life partners Jeremy Bernard and Rufus Gifford of the consultancy firm B&G Associates have since February 2007 raised tens of millions of dollars in the state of California—second only to New York as a source of public funds for campaigners—on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential bid. In addition to the presidential race, they are overseeing the U.S. Senate campaigns of Jeff Merkley in Oregon and Mark Warner in Virginia.