On March 13, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a speech at the Piper Mountain Boys & Girls Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Sara Stasas | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Joe Biden’s allies are stepping up a charm offensive aimed at getting prominent Republicans and donors who don’t support Donald Trump to support the Democratic president.
But the task has proven difficult, according to people familiar with the matter.
As of Thursday, Biden had not received any Endorsement From nationally recognized Republican officials.
Meanwhile, several major Republican-leaning political donors who backed former presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley’s campaign are hesitant, at least for now, in deciding whether to back Biden.
“The winning campaign will build coalitions, which will be the North Star of the campaign every day between now and November,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz told CNBC in an email on Wednesday. — win over the voters who will decide this race.”
For Biden, one Republican endorsement will trump all others. But it’s a long process.
final recognition
Some of Biden’s donors, who also backed Haley in her primary challenge to Trump, have tried to privately encourage her to support Biden, people familiar with the matter said.
On February 15, 2023, in Charleston, South Carolina, the United States, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley met with supporters when she announced her candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Reuters/Allison Joyce
Alison Joyce | Reuters
Like others in this story, they were granted anonymity to describe private conversations.
They explained that as of Thursday, Biden and his senior campaign advisers had not contacted Haley or members of her team about possible endorsements. It’s unclear whether Haley has responded to any outreach from her past contributors.
An adviser to a Democratic Biden donor who was aware of Haley’s contact called the campaign “next to impossible” to win her support for Biden.
For Haley, endorsing Biden could mean sacrificing any future political prospects she has in a Republican Party increasingly dominated by Trump.
A spokesman for Haley did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The names in bold
In the coming months, Biden’s team plans to reach out to other Republicans who have run against Trump, including former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, according to people familiar with the matter.
The “Republicans for Biden” group could be finalized before the Democratic National Convention in July.
While Haley, Cheney and Christie have not endorsed Biden, they have all previously publicly condemned Trump.
Cheney appears more willing than any other high-profile Republican to verbally endorse Biden over Trump — despite not formally endorsing the president.
“I will do whatever is necessary to defeat Donald Trump,” she said at a recent campaign event. CNN interview. A spokesman for Cheney did not respond to a request for comment.
The Biden team believes big-name endorsements could have the biggest impact later in the election cycle, after the president solidifies support among the Democratic base and contrasts with Trump.
The president has been traveling to key states in recent weeks to activate core Democratic voters and highlight his administration’s record of success. At the same time, his campaign has been expanding its battleground state staff and offices.
Donor
Biden’s campaign could end up costing more than $1 billion as he seeks to bolster his campaign coffers with cash from anti-Trump Republican donors.
Biden raised tens of millions of dollars more than Trump in the first quarter of 2024. But the newly formed Republican Joint Fundraising Committee, which can accept donations of up to $814,600 per person, could start to tip the scales in Trump’s favor.
Wealthy Biden donors are already working to recruit Haley bundlers and contributors. But similar to gaining recognition, things here appear to be difficult.
Some Haley donors cited policy differences with the Democratic administration as a major reason why they were unable to commit to Biden, according to people familiar with the matter.
But others already appear more willing to donate to Biden than support Trump.
Some Haley bundlers said a gift from Haley left them with the impression that the former South Carolina governor wanted them not to donate to Trump, one of the people explained.
Sshortly after haleyAfter Maher withdrew from the Republican primary on the 6th, she sent campaign T-shirts to some bundlers that read: “permanently banned“In them.
The shirt references Trump’s infamous threat that anyone who gave Haley money would be “forever banned from the MAGA camp.”
But another person familiar with the T-shirts never intended to send any message other than to say “thank you” to her supporters.
Nikki Haley sells “Banned. Forever. Nikki Haley for President” T-shirts.
Nikki Haley from X
George Conway, a one time The Republican and outspoken opponent of Trump recently donated $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund and said he plans to attend the committee’s April 26 dinner.
The Biden Victory Fund raises money for the Biden campaign, the Democratic National Committee and dozens of state parties.
Conway told CNBC that the party’s co-hosts are mostly Democrats, but he plans to “try to get more apostates to show up.”
As of Thursday, it was unclear whether any other current or former Republicans planned to participate.
“Everyone, including Republican voters who reject Trump’s chaos, division and violence, has a place in President Biden’s campaign,” said Biden campaign aide Munoz.
Yet while some Haley Republicans say they want to step away from presidential politics for a while, other parts of the Never-Trump world still want Biden to move faster.
someone who is ready and willing
For these Republicans, Biden’s current outreach isn’t enough to re-engage disillusioned Haley voters, many of whom have experienced huge disappointment this year.
“Nikki Haley got (approximately) 76,000 votes last night (in the Wisconsin primary),” said Bill Kristol, a political adviser to Trump and a former aide in the Reagan administration. Kristol) wrote.
“Biden won Wisconsin in 2020 by (approximately) 20,000 votes. Republican voters against Trump matter,” he added in the X post. “It might not be a bad idea for the Biden team to engage more with these voters.”
Bill Kristol
Michael Brockstein | Sopa Images | Light Rocket | Getty Images
Kristol’s nonprofit, Together Defending Democracy, is helping fund a $50 million ad campaign by a group called Republican Voters Against Trump. The ads will feature former Trump voters explaining why they decided not to vote for him again.
Mike Madrid, co-founder of the anti-Trump political action committee “Lincoln Project,” told CNBC that Republicans preparing to play a role in the 2024 election are still waiting for some guidance from Biden’s team.
“Most interactions with the Biden campaign so far have been informal as most donors, elected officials and campaign professionals look for direction,” Madrid said.
“We’re waiting for our marching orders,” he said.
everyone else
While some of Biden’s key figures are busy courting individual Republicans, other members of Biden’s team are devising ways to connect with thousands of disillusioned Haley supporters across the country.
The Biden campaign recently launched a advertise Haley’s supporters were encouraged to support Biden over Trump. According to reports, a political action committee called “Biden Haley Voters” is trying to persuade Haley voters to support Biden instead of Trump. traffic light.
Former United Nations Ambassador and 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (left) at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire, on January 23, 2024 Addressing the media outside the polling station.
Joseph Prezioso | AFP | Getty Images
The effort to turn opposition to Trump into support for Biden comes at a critical time for the president, who may need these voters and their donations to win re-election in November.
A Real Clear Politics polling average shows Biden and Trump nearly tied in the race for the White House on Thursday.
Whoever wins the presidency in November will likely need to make significant gains among former Haley supporters to do so.Polls show Haley primary electorate Tend to be more centrist, educated, and wealthier than average.
If the Biden campaign can convert individual key anti-Trump figures into Biden supporters, their approach could provide important lessons for the Biden team going forward.
Over the next six months, Biden’s 2024 campaign will need to win over potentially millions of anti-Trump Republican and independent voters in key battleground states. Many of them will be voters who helped or would have helped Haley get through the Republican primary.
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