Obama heads to San Francisco for fundraising swing

President Barack Obama was headed West Wednesday to deliver a speech in Denver promoting gun control measures. But in the evening, Obama shifts to fundraising.

The president is scheduled to attend two fundraisers in San Francisco for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which assists Democrats running for the House. Both events will have limited coverage—just a small group of "pool" reporters will be permitted to record Obama's remarks.

The first event will be a cocktail reception for about 100 attendees at the home of Kat Taylor and Tom Steyer, a Democratic official confirmed to the White House pool following previous news reports. Steyer is a hedge fund billionaire and environmentalist as well as a prominent Democratic fundraiser.

Tickets to the event run from $5,000 to $34,200, according to the official. Two supporters will be allowed to attend because they won a DCCC contest that drew 78,000 entrants.

Steyer is a strong opponent of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline extension, which would carry Canadian crude oil south to Texas. Pipeline protesters are preparing to rally around the event.

Obama's second fundraising stop will be a dinner at the home of Ann and Gordon Getty, the official confirmed. Gordon Getty is a billionaire philanthropist and music composer from the Getty Oil family. The dinner, according to the official, is an annual DCCC event and raised about $1.7 million last year.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, whose district includes San Francisco, will attend, as will DCCC Chairman Rep. Steve Israel of New York. Both are slated to speak.

Obama has committed to eight DCCC events this year, including two to be shared with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. He's scheduled to remain overnight in California and attend two fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee in Silicon Valley.

The two-day fundraising swing is Obama's first since he began his second term.