Joe Biden fundraising shows signs of weakness after debate | Wilnesh News

Nearly ten days after his disastrous presidential debate performance, President Biden’s fundraising efforts are beginning to show cracks in the once-fearful armor.

Some Biden campaign bundlers have stopped calling potential donors since the June 27 debate, according to people familiar with the matter.

“No one is answering the phone,” said one well-connected Democratic fundraiser who raises money for Biden and the Democratic Party. This person and others were granted anonymity in order to publicly discuss private conversations about sensitive topics.

Some of his bundlers are limiting their access to people in their personal fundraising networks because they either received no response at all or received angry responses from people questioning why they should give money after Biden’s debate performance .

Bundles are an important part of any event financing strategy. Bundlers are typically wealthy and well-connected individuals who agree to directly contact people in their personal networks (both social and professional) to solicit donations for campaigns and joint fundraising committees.

Bundling is more of an art than a science. Some bundlers only ask for small donations from people they know, while others are willing to ask for six-figure checks. The point is that the bundler spends his or her personal capital asking friends, family, clients, and colleagues for what is essentially a favor, donating money to candidates who share their values.

That makes bundlers a litmus test for campaign momentum: As a candidate’s stature rises, bundlers will be eager to talk about the campaign with friends and family. But if a candidate is in trouble, bundlers often feel the impact before campaign staffers get the message.

Some Biden bundlers are weighing whether to suspend their calls, text messages and emails because they don’t believe Biden will stay in the race much longer, despite what the president has said.

Longtime Biden ally and fundraiser John Morgan said, “I will not raise any more money or write any more checks until I know for sure that he is the candidate and the campaign finds dates for the fundraisers he has planned for Biden.” .

Asked if he would like to see Biden remain in the presidential race, Morgan said: “The next few weeks are going to be critical. But my donors need to make sure he’s the nominee.”

Other donors are withdrawing because they believe the president should drop out of the race.

“Having him take over now is the best thing for the country and the world,” said Stewart Bainum Jr., chairman of Choice Hotels and a major Biden supporter. “If he continues to run, it’s best for the country and the world.” It would be a disaster for the country..

“We’re going to help the nominee, whoever it is, after the convention,” Benham told CNBC on Monday. “We’re not going to do it before the convention.”

Benham hosted a fundraiser for Biden in 2017 Maryland Last year, he said he believed Biden would drop out of the race before heading into the convention, where the nominee would be chosen by delegates.

“We want to know who the nominees are. We think there should be an open convention and let the delegates decide,” he added.

Benham and his wife, Sandy Benham, each donated the legal maximum of $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, which benefits the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and dozens of state parties, according to Federal Election Commission records .

Benham said if Biden doesn’t withdraw, he fears the president will lose to former President Donald Trump and kill any chance Democrats have of regaining control of the House or a majority in the Senate.

A Biden campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Data shows that as of Monday, Biden trailed Trump by 3.3 percentage points in the general election showdown. RealClearPolitics poll average.

New Bloomberg/Morning Consult polling The weekend showed Trump leading Biden in key battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

In polls in Michigan and Wisconsin, Biden leads by 5 percentage points and 3 percentage points respectively.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who has been trying to raise money for Biden since the debate, said he’s heard some donors “get cold feet.”

But Rendell also told CNBC that after the debate, he received a letter from Philadelphia attorney Lisa Kabnick, who pledged that she and her husband would provide at least $10,000 to Biden’s political operations. Kabotnik, a retired partner at Troutman Pepper, has donated at least $25,000 to the commission, according to FEC records.

Kabotnik did not respond to an email from CNBC asking whether she still plans to donate to Biden.

If Biden and his political operation see a dip in fundraising in the coming weeks, it would be a huge change for a president who has been a great president for years. Fundraise for your own campaign and the Democratic Party.

The Biden team claimed to have raised $127 million in June, including more than $30 million they said were raised in the days following the debate. Biden’s overall reelection effort, which includes campaign committees, coalition groups and the Democratic National Committee, said it started July with $240 million in cash on hand.

Still, despite Biden’s efforts to reassure party donors that his debate performance was a one-time incident, some of them were still shocked by the debate, in which he struggled to finish sentences, maintain his ideas and responded to Trump.

Efforts to assuage donor concerns appear to have had mixed results.

Biden participated in a conference call Monday with many of his top donors, campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. According to a person involved in the call, the call was nearly 35 minutes later than its scheduled start time of noon.

During the call, Biden reiterated his plan to remain involved in the campaign with donors despite deep concerns among some about his ability to defeat Trump, two people who participated in the call said.

Responding to his poor debate performance, Biden said he planned to “attack, attack, attack, attack” Trump in the second debate. September“, one of the people explained. The call lasted about half an hour.

The criticism Biden has received from party donors does not appear to have phased him out, although some, including Disney heiress Abigail Disney, have said they plan to stop donating to Democrats until Biden leaves the race .

“I don’t care what millionaires have to say,” Biden said in a surprise appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday. “By the way, you’re not going to see a lot of people flocking to Trump.”

While there are real concerns among Democratic donors, many are willing to continue helping the president.

Transcarent CEO Glen Tullman said: “I fully support the president and plan to continue donating. He is not perfect, but the alternative is unacceptable. Not only to Democrats, but to independents and many progressive traditional conservative Republicans.” explain.

The entrepreneur and Livongo Health founder donated $450,000 to the Biden Victory Fund in March, according to FEC records.

Several fundraisers for Biden are also planned across the country.

Biden aims to attend fundraiser in Austin, Texas, approximately July 15According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, the president will deliver a speech at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library that day.

He will also travel to California and Colorado later this month for event fundraisers co-hosted by businessman Tim Gill, real estate executive Wayne Jordan and his wife, longtime Democratic donor Quinn Delaney. Man explained.

Representatives for Gill did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Jordan did not respond to a request for comment.

Rendell said he plans to hold a fundraiser for Biden in Pennsylvania in September. Biden allies in New York also plan to hold fundraisers in September, according to a person familiar with the matter.

“Some people may have decided not to give money, but I guarantee you if the polls show him ahead of Trump, they will start giving him money again,” Rendell said.