'It can become an avalanche': Democratic donors back away from Biden’s fundraising events

05 July 2024

A growing number of high-level donors to the Democratic Party and President Joe Biden's campaign now say they're in the dark about whether previously scheduled campaign fundraisers will happen.

The New York Times reported Friday that, since Biden's flat performance on the debate stage with former President Donald Trump late last month, several fundraising events Democrats were counting on have since fallen through after donors backed out. One fundraiser in Wisconsin was cancelled entirely — this was despite organizers adjusting their goal from raising $1 million to $500,000, and still not finding a way to reach that number given the number of donors who said they would not be attending.

Florida-based lawyer John Morgan — of the firm Morgan & Morgan — told the Times that a fundraiser he planned was still in flux, and that he's struggled to get concrete answers from the Biden team about whether the event would be held in August or September.

"I don’t think they know the answer," Morgan said.

The megadonor observed that the more Democratic-aligned donors speak out about their concerns over Biden's continued candidacy, the more other donors would feel emboldened to withhold their money until a candidate they felt was better equipped to win this fall emerged.

"It can become an avalanche," he said.

Later this month, Biden was scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Austin, Texas hosted by Luci Baines Johnson — the daughter of President Lyndon Baines Johnson — to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the late president's signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, the Times reported that "people briefed on the planning" said the event may no longer be happening.

The paper reported earlier this week that several major Democratic donors were becoming bearish on Biden's chances of winning in November. And an online document calling for Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee is making its rounds among other donors, who prefer the 59 year-old second-in-command to the 81 year-old president.

"In the last week the president has proven he has a strong message and a strong agenda to run on," Biden campaign finance director Rufus Gifford said. "We know our supporters will see the determination he has and ensure we have the resources to win in November."

Click here to read the Times' reporting in full (subscription required).

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