Anurag Kumar
Friday evening, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and their spouses will entertain approximately 150 of the Democratic Party’s top donors in Washington, D.C., as they set the groundwork for their reelection campaign, which is expected to require in excess of $1 billion.
The summit is not a fundraiser, and it is unclear how many participants have already contributed to Biden’s campaign. Rather, it is billed as a strategy session for high-dollar donors and fundraisers who will utilize their networks to assist in funding Biden’s campaign over the next 18 months.
In addition to a dinner on Friday night, top Biden advisers and his campaign co-chairs will brief attendees on the campaign’s strategy for the 2024 election to “fund winning campaigns from the top of the ticket down,” according to the campaign.
“Now that he’s thrown his hat back into the ring, the dam has burst, and people are super excited and on board,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-chair of Biden’s campaign. “We are at the start of the commencement. It is not a sprint, but a marathon. And we’re in the enviable position of being singularly concentrated on running and winning in November 2024, with all of our efforts and resources devoted to that goal.”
The campaign anticipates the presence of a number of Democratic legislators, including governors Wes Moore of Maryland, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, and Gavin Newsom of California, at the posh Salamander Hotel in Washington.
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Biden’s first formal in-person campaign event since announcing his candidacy on Tuesday is the weekend summit. A person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity in order to discuss internal dynamics stated that the campaign is beginning to take shape in unused office space at the Democratic National Committee before relocating to Wilmington, Delaware, the president’s birthplace. And campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez has not yet begun because she is still in the process of transitioning out of her role as director of intergovernmental affairs at the White House.
Biden held a virtual call with grassroots supporters from the White House residence on Thursday evening, and his campaign has sent out scores of fundraising emails to supporters, whose smaller checks, according to the campaign, are just as valuable as those of large donors. In the 2022 midterm election cycle, grassroots donors accounted for over sixty percent of the DNC’s fundraising.
Katzenberg stated, “One of Joe Biden’s defining characteristics is that he has always enjoyed grassroots support, and it has always been an integral part of his campaigns.” It would be a mistake to pay too much heed to the high end and the bundlers.
Biden’s remarks were anticipated to touch on the pillars of his campaign, from his accomplishments in office to the “MAGA Republicans” who, according to his campaign, are attempting to “take away women’s right to choose, ban books, and gut Social Security and Medicare.”
A person with knowledge of the event who was not authorized to discuss it publicly stated that all invitees raised at least $1 million for Biden’s 2020 campaign. Invitations for the event were sent out only late last week, so it is anticipated that some benefactors fitting this description will be unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.
Some donors have complained about Biden’s White House’s inconsistent outreach, and the weekend summit was an attempt to ease tensions as the re-election campaign gets underway.
Biden’s campaign has not disclosed how much it has raised since he formally announced his candidacy on Tuesday morning, but Katzenberg is “absolutely confident” it will surpass the nearly $1.1 billion raised for Biden’s 2020 campaign.
