Vice President Kamala Harris has seen a wave of big donation support after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, with help from bundlers who have helped her in past campaigns, according to people familiar with the matter.
Shortly after Biden announced she was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Harris, major donors who helped raise money for her during her failed 2020 Democratic primary campaign and successful 2016 Senate campaign immediately mobilized and began pouring money into wealthy businesses, these people said. Donors lend a helping hand.
“I’ve been in contact with many of her supporters from New York to California, and we’re organizing to get the fundraising machine started,” Jon Henes, vice president’s national finance chairman, said during the 2020 presidential campaign. “I’ve received over 200 texts, calls and emails today from people wanting to hold events and donate.”
Top party fundraisers currently planning to help Harris include veteran Wall Street executive Marc Lasry, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. Lasry helped the vice president raise money when he ran against Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary. He later raised campaign funds for Biden when he defeated Trump that election cycle
But it wasn’t just big donors who responded to Biden’s statement: Progressive Donor Platform blue action said it raised $27.5 million from small donors in the five hours after Biden endorsed Harris.
Shortly after receiving the endorsement, the Biden presidential campaign filed documents with the Federal Election Commission to change its name to “President Harris.”
But the new energy among some of the party’s top financiers is particularly important after several of them announced they would withhold campaign funds from Biden’s leadership following his poor performance in a June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump.
Venture capitalist Reed Huffman plans to donate more to Harris’ campaign than he would have if he had supported Biden over Trump throughout the 2024 presidential election cycle, according to a person familiar with the matter. Huffman has donated at least $10 million to pro-Biden political action committees so far this election, according to Federal Election Commission records.
huffman Agree Harris posted on social media. A spokesman for Huffman declined to comment.
Ahead of Biden’s exit, Harris allies were planning to hold a fundraiser in early August in the posh Hamptons area of New York, featuring Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, some people familiar with the matter explained. (Doug Emhoff). Some donors deleted emailed invitations out of dissatisfaction with Biden, these people explained.
It is now expected that next month’s event in the Hamptons will likely sell out, with many donors helping Harris on the sidelines, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Alexander Soros, the son of Democratic megadonor George Soros, posted on social media on Sunday after Biden withdrew that “it’s time for all of us to rally around Kamala Harris and defeat Donald Trump.” It’s time.
But major donor support for Harris is not widespread across the Democratic Party, suggesting she will have some work to do to get them on her side.
Stewart Bainum Jr., chairman of Choice Hotels and a major Biden donor, told CNBC that he is still on the sidelines and will not step in to help Harris because he believes there will be more challenges in the upcoming convention. There should be a fight against other potential nominees for a chance to lead the party. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held in Chicago in August.
Another veteran Biden fundraiser said Harris and others seeking the nomination should hold a “mini primary” in the coming weeks.
But for Harris, the immediate onboarding of some donors is a sign that she can support the more than $95 million in campaign coffers she will control once Biden exits the race.
Anna Massoglia, investigations manager at campaign finance research center OpenSecrets, said Harris could receive about $96 million in immediate donations from the Biden campaign.
“The general consensus from most people I’ve spoken to is that she has access to the funds,” Masoglia told CNBC.
Masoglia noted that some conservative election lawyers believe Harris needs to officially become the Democratic nominee to fully receive campaign funding, but she added that they represent only a “small minority” of lawyers.
Still, the source of Harris’ campaign finances remains an open question until election lawyers resolve the dispute over whether Harris needs to be the official nominee. Masoglia said the same goes for contributions from the Democratic National Committee and the Joint Fundraising Committee.
However, the situation becomes more complicated if Harris fails to secure the Democratic nomination. In this case, the campaign can move its funds to a political action committee or other type of political committee that can be used to support the new nominee.
Masoglia said there are several drawbacks to this option: PACs would need to pay for more expensive advertising and wouldn’t be allowed to coordinate with candidates.
Another option is to refund the donor and ask them to donate to another committee. Masoglia said this increases the risk that donors may decide not to donate to the new campaign.
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