After several days of quiet rumination and hope that President Biden would abandon his re-election campaign on his own, many wealthy Democratic donors are trying to take matters into their own hands.
Donors have used their fortunes as carrots and sticks, launching a series of initiatives to pressure Mr. Biden to step down from the top of the ticket and help lay the groundwork for a replacement candidate.
The efforts — some coordinated, some contradictory and others still emerging — reveal a striking and growing divide between the party’s contributor class and its standard-bearer that could impact voting rounds, whether or not the donors influence Mr. Biden’s decision not .
The president reiterated his determination to stay in the race on Wednesday amid criticism of his poor debate performance last week. But that doesn’t appease donors or strategists who fear he won’t be able to win in November.
A group of them is working to raise up to $100 million for a type of trust fund called the Next Generation PAC that would be used to support a replacement candidate. If Mr. Biden does not resign, the money could be used to support candidates who face pushback in the vote, people close to the initiative say.
Proponents of potential successors like Vice President Kamala Harris are scrambling to position their ideal successor. Other donors are threatening to withhold contributions not only from Mr. Biden but also from other Democratic groups unless Mr. Biden drops out.
There is a separate movement that funnels money to candidates for lower office. And financial backers are calling on elected officials at all levels to publicly urge Mr. Biden to withdraw, signaling their support for those who hold out. Some big donors like Reed Hastings have publicly called for Mr. Biden to resign.
Gideon Stein, a donor and activist with close ties to Democratic politics, said his family would withhold $3.5 million in planned donations to nonprofits and political organizations active in the presidential campaign unless Mr. Biden step back. He said that virtually every major donor he has spoken to believes that “a new ticket is in the best interest of defeating Donald Trump.”
Damon Lindelof, a Hollywood producer who has donated more than $115,000 to Democrats this election cycle and attended Mr. Biden’s Hollywood fundraiser last month, published an essay in Deadline calling for a “DEMbargo.” by Mr. Biden and others urged Democratic candidates until Mr. Biden resigns. Mr. Lindelof said in a text message exchange, “No one wants to donate to anyone until the proverbial dust settles.”
If Mr. Biden pushes ahead, there could be a dramatic impasse with a large donor base at the moment when it is needed most: as the race enters the big-spending home stretch. While Mr. Biden narrowly overtook Donald J. Trump last month, it is not clear whether he has erased the financial advantage that Mr. Trump and his party had over Mr. Biden and his party in early June.
A surge in donations to Mr. Biden’s campaign after the debate was driven largely by online donations, which tend to come from smaller donors, although he also attended a handful of pre-planned fundraising receptions with major donors.
And not all big donors are jumping ship. Some of the ticket’s wealthy backers, even those who want a different candidate, said they would still write checks, albeit reluctantly. Still, some Democrats are concerned about the speed at which much of the money is being raised. According to a recent list of events distributed to major Biden donors, there are no fundraisers for Mr. Biden until an event in Denver at the end of the month, although more may be added.
But many major donors are looking for a way to move on and build financial infrastructure for a post-Biden campaign.
“This is something unique,” said James Carville, the longtime Democratic strategist. He added that he had encouraged donors to reject fundraising appeals from Democratic campaigns and that the situation was different from donor revolts in previous campaigns where donors complained, but “most of the time you sit down and listen and take notes.” and then just tell them “yes” and then do nothing and everything will be fine.”
Many concerned Biden megadonors remain publicly silent, fearful of being seen as involved in a major coup. Instead, several said in interviews that they were shifting their donations toward protecting candidates for congressional and state offices from harm that could arise from concerns about the size of the slate.
“You have to keep funding the machine,” said Andrew E. Beck III, a retired finance executive who has donated more than $100,000 to Mr. Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Mr. Beck signed a statement released Wednesday by a coalition of business leaders calling on Mr. Biden to resign and also worked privately to persuade Democratic elected officials to publicly demand that outcome.
But of all the efforts by wealthy Democrats, perhaps none is as ambitious as the Next Generation PAC, which plans to set up a holding account to support a successor to Mr. Biden on the Democratic ticket. Several proposals to set aside some money for a Democratic candidate not named Joe Biden have gained popularity among executives on Wall Street and Silicon Valley, according to four people familiar with the conversations.
The new PAC effort is led by Mike Novogratz, the cryptocurrency billionaire who backed Dean Phillips in the Democratic primary; his helpers; and Hollywood filmmaker Andrew Jarecki, according to three people briefed on the plan, likely with support from the Movement Voter Project. Next Generation PAC, which had not yet filed federal paperwork as of Thursday afternoon, has told donors that it aims to raise between $50 million and $100 million but does not plan to officially launch until some money comes in.
That group, which is none other than Biden, intends to hold on to the money until either Mr. Biden withdraws as a candidate or the Democratic National Convention ends, according to materials distributed to donors and reviewed by The New York Times. If Mr. Biden leaves, the PAC would spend money on ads for the new candidate and against Mr. Trump. If Mr. Biden remains the nominee, the group will spend the money to help other Democrats.
According to one of the people associated with the Biden team, they got wind of this stealth project and tried to dissuade some involved from joining it. The donors and strategists did not respond to requests for comment.
Some of those efforts could work to the advantage of Ms. Harris, who has faced skepticism from some big donors but whose allies are now privately seeking support from ultra-wealthy donors and their big-money managers, according to interviews and internal memos.
People close to Ms. Harris have reached out to influential business leaders to see how she could build her donor base, according to two people familiar with the outreach.
Should Mr. Biden resign and be replaced by Ms. Harris, she could inherit the campaign cash, which stood at $212 million at the start of last month. Should another candidate be nominated, the process could become more complicated and may require funds to be transferred to the DNC or an independent group.
According to a fundraiser who delivered this message, some major Democratic donors have told the Biden campaign directly that they support a candidate swap. Others have asked where their money would go if he resigned.
“We fully plan for President Biden to be the nominee, but the majority of money raised through the Biden Victory Fund will go to the DNC, which supports all Democrats on the ballot,” a mid-level campaign official told a group of donors . According to a person who shared the written message.
Some Harris supporters are still willing to speak out publicly.
“We are ready and willing to support a Harris ticket,” said Jon Henes, who led the national finance committee of Ms. Harris’ 2020 campaign. Mr. Henes said he supports Mr. Biden but if he decides not to run, “there is no doubt that she is ready to be president.”
Raymond J. McGuire, president of the financial firm Lazard, called Ms. Harris “particularly capable of bringing this nation together by bridging all divides.”
“Your candidacy is compelling,” he said. Currently it does not exist.
Kate Kelly contributed reporting.
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2024-07-04 21:21:52
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