According to a Friday Reuters report, several fundraisers for President Joe Biden are stalled, according to several Democratic sources close to the event. This is even while the Democratic Party planned to speed up his nomination and vowed to continue the 2024 presidential race.
The president had planned to raise money in Denver, California, and Austin, Texas, next week, but those plans have been put on the shelf, at least for now, said the sources. According to his administration, the president tested positive for Covid-19 Wednesday but said Friday he would return to the campaign trail next week.
The Biden campaign maintains that his fundraisers will continue as planned, saying, “Reuters’ sourcing is incorrect, and we look forward to a robust fundraising schedule.” Kevin Munoz, the campaign spokesman, said this on Friday.
According to the sources, several big donors are closing their wallets amidst questions about whether Biden should remain at the top of the Democratic Party ticket. They are using their financial clout to tell the president to drop out of the November 5 race, possibly in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The campaign had hoped to bring in around $50 million in high-dollar donations in July for the Biden Victory fund. Still, it was on track for less than half of that as of Friday, according to two sources familiar with the fundraising efforts.
“There are a lot of donors who have said they won’t put another dime in this race. Will they come back?” asked one major East Coast financier.
President Biden raked in $28 million one evening in June at a Hollywood fundraiser hosted by George Clooney, who recently urged Biden to halt his campaign.
According to a source close to the plan, VP Harris was expected to speak to significant donors on Friday as the president’s advisers requested.
According to Reuters, a campaign official claimed megadonor fundraising was predicted to drop from June to July because many were vacationing.
“This narrative that high-dollar fundraising has dried up is wrong,” said the official.
More than 1 in 10 congressional Democrats have publicly called on Biden to drop out after the June debate debacle against former President Donald Trump that raised questions about the president’s ability to win in November and carry out his duties for another four years.
DNC Rule Committee met Friday to lay out virtual process
The Democratic National Convention Rules Committee met on Friday to lay out a virtual process for officially nominating Biden before the party’s in-person convention starts on August 19 in Chicago. Officials maintained that an early nomination is necessary to comply with state election laws or risk being left off the ballot in November.
“They’re not risks that we as a party can or should take,” said Biden’s former White House counsel, Dana Remus, to the committee.
With the Democrat Party already divided over the president and amid new calls Friday from Congressional Democrats for him to leave, the early virtual vote is another controversial point.
Critics argue it’s a way of pushing President Biden through early as the party’s official nominee, while others, including Chair of the DNC Jaime Harrison, said it’s crucial to deal with an Ohio law that could have kept his name off ballots in the state if he isn’t nominated by August 7.
A rules committee member asked if another candidate could challenge Joe Biden in a virtual vote. The committee’s co-chair, Leah Daugherty, said any challenger would require the “verified support of hundreds of delegates.”
“Such a challenge has never happened over the past half-century of competitive primaries,” said Daughtry.
