President Joe Biden’s fundraising machine is facing hurdles in the wake of his debate performance nearly two weeks ago, as some of his campaign bundlers told CNBC that they’ve stopped making calls to donors because “no one is picking up the phone.”
Bundlers, often wealthy donors themselves, agree to solicit other would-be donors in their personal network for donations to campaigns and joint fundraising committees, peddling their personal capital in the process, according to CNBC.
But some have stopped making calls altogether, unsure that Biden will be the Democratic nominee in the end or getting blowback from their network that Biden should drop out of the presidential race, according to the report.
“I’m not going to raise any more money or write out checks until I am sure he is the candidate and the campaign finds a date” for his planned fundraiser for Biden, longtime ally John Morgan told CNBC. “These next few weeks will be key. But my donors need to be sure he is the nominee.”
Megadonor Stewart Bainum, chair of Choice Hotels, said: “It’s now best for the country and the world for him to pass the baton. We’ll help the nominee — whoever that is — after the convention. We won’t do it before the convention.”
That’s a six-week pause; the Democratic National Convention is Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
Democratic megadonor Ari Emanuel, in remarks the morning after the June 27 debate, said big donors he's talked to are pulling out from Biden and spending their money down ballot in congressional races.
"The lifeblood to a campaign in politics, the lifeblood is money. And maybe the only way this gets [solved] — with smart lawyers looking at it — is if the money starts drying up,” Emanuel said, referring to a legal battle to have Biden removed as the Democratic candidate.
Biden’s campaign took in $264 million in the second quarter — including $33 million on the day of the debate and in the days after — and entered July with $240 million cash on hand.
Biden trails Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump by 3.3 points nationally, according to the up-to-date RealClearPolitics polling average. Biden was leading Trump by 9 points on this date in 2020.
Further, a new AARP poll showed Trump opening up a 7-point lead over Biden in battleground Wisconsin while continuing to maintain leads in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina, according to a Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll over the weekend. That poll showed Biden with a 3-point lead in Wisconsin, a 10-point swing from Tuesday’s AARP survey.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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