At a campaign fundraiser Thursday night in Washington, D.C. on President Obama said he believes his chances of being reelected in 2012 are “much higher” than they were in 2008.

“Over the last couple of months there have been Democrats who voiced concerns and nervousness about, well, in this kind of economy, isn’t this just — aren’t these just huge headwinds in terms of your reelection?” Obama said.

“And I just have to remind people that, here’s one thing I know for certain: the odds of me being reelected are much higher than the odds of me being elected in the first place.”

Obama made the remarks before a gathering of 50 donors to his reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee who each paid $35,800 to attend.

The event was held at the Georgetown home of former U.S. ambassador to Portugal Elizabeth Frawley Bagley.

“We remain very confident about our ability to win a contest of ideas in 2012,” Obama said, “as long as we can get the message out.”