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Democratic donors are deeply concerned about President Joe Biden’s viability as a candidate as the party continues to wrestle with the path forward — and holding back big checks, according to multiple sources familiar with the effort.
“Everything is frozen because no one knows what’s going to happen. Everyone is in wait and see mode,” one Democratic strategist told CNN, noting that donors are hyper-focused on what Biden is doing, including interviews and his news conference Thursday.
Donors often operate behind the scenes and, according to sources, have grown increasingly anxious about Biden’s candidacy following his halting debate performance last month. And on Wednesday, George Clooney, who had been among Biden’s biggest supporters and donors in Hollywood, took the remarkable step of publicly calling for him to bow out of the presidential race.
The Clooney op-ed, the strategist said, is “going to sting.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comments on MSNBC Wednesday morning also raised fresh doubts and ricocheted among donors. Pelosi told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that “it’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
“Major donations have slowed remarkably since the debate,” a Democratic fundraiser told CNN, adding that small dollar donations are proceeding at pace, but noted the campaign is too vast to live on small donations alone.
A Biden campaign official told CNN that July was the best start to any month ever for grassroots fundraising. They added that several donors maxed out in the past few days and that the Biden-Harris campaign had several fundraisers across the country this month alone.
Earlier this week, Biden tried to reassure donors in a call, maintaining that he’s staying in the race and arguing he’s still the best candidate to beat Republican rival Donald Trump.
“My one job is to beat Donald Trump,” Biden said, according to one of the participants on the call, who said Biden thanked donors and renewed his pledge to keep the fight alive.
But that hasn’t calmed everyone’s nerves.
“It’s been a rough go,” one source familiar with the fundraising situation said. “In the short term, the money is a challenge, but it is a fluid situation.”
The incoming money is “drying up,” another source close to fundraising efforts told CNN, describing donors as very, very frustrated, and very, very worried.
That’s already come through in fundraisers held after the debate: A fundraiser held at New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s home following the debate raised $3.7 million – less than half of the haul raised at a pre-debate fundraiser held at the Virginia home of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe the week before the debate.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/10/politics/chicago-donors-fundraiser-convention/index.html
Democratic donors are deeply concerned about President Joe Biden’s viability as a candidate as the party continues to wrestle with the path forward — and holding back big checks, according to multiple sources familiar with the effort.
“Everything is frozen because no one knows what’s going to happen. Everyone is in wait and see mode,” one Democratic strategist told CNN, noting that donors are hyper-focused on what Biden is doing, including interviews and his news conference Thursday.
Donors often operate behind the scenes and, according to sources, have grown increasingly anxious about Biden’s candidacy following his halting debate performance last month. And on Wednesday, George Clooney, who had been among Biden’s biggest supporters and donors in Hollywood, took the remarkable step of publicly calling for him to bow out of the presidential race.
The Clooney op-ed, the strategist said, is “going to sting.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s comments on MSNBC Wednesday morning also raised fresh doubts and ricocheted among donors. Pelosi told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that “it’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
“Major donations have slowed remarkably since the debate,” a Democratic fundraiser told CNN, adding that small dollar donations are proceeding at pace, but noted the campaign is too vast to live on small donations alone.
A Biden campaign official told CNN that July was the best start to any month ever for grassroots fundraising. They added that several donors maxed out in the past few days and that the Biden-Harris campaign had several fundraisers across the country this month alone.
Earlier this week, Biden tried to reassure donors in a call, maintaining that he’s staying in the race and arguing he’s still the best candidate to beat Republican rival Donald Trump.
“My one job is to beat Donald Trump,” Biden said, according to one of the participants on the call, who said Biden thanked donors and renewed his pledge to keep the fight alive.
But that hasn’t calmed everyone’s nerves.
“It’s been a rough go,” one source familiar with the fundraising situation said. “In the short term, the money is a challenge, but it is a fluid situation.”
The incoming money is “drying up,” another source close to fundraising efforts told CNN, describing donors as very, very frustrated, and very, very worried.
That’s already come through in fundraisers held after the debate: A fundraiser held at New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s home following the debate raised $3.7 million – less than half of the haul raised at a pre-debate fundraiser held at the Virginia home of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe the week before the debate.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/10/politics/chicago-donors-fundraiser-convention/index.html
