President Joe Biden made his reelection pitch to the wealthy on Friday night, a group that may prove crucial to his candidacy.
Biden, who announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election via a video posted online on Tuesday, gathered fewer than 200 of his previous campaign’s top donors and volunteer fundraisers at the five-star Salamander Hotel in Washington.
Biden Hosts Democratic Party Allies
They dined under blue stage lighting with rising political stars in the Democratic Party, including the governors of California and New Jersey, who have chosen to support Biden, 80, rather than challenge him.
Allies believe that Biden may need to raise and spend more than $1 billion in order to wage a competitive campaign in 2024.
Former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, who spent $300 million on his own presidential campaign in 2020 before donating millions to Biden and other Democrats, and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, the only fundraiser among Biden’s initial seven campaign co-chairs, were in attendance.
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Fundraising Expectations
A small number of reporters were permitted to observe a portion of the event before being removed.
Biden did not mention Republican frontrunner and former President Donald Trump or any other potential Republican opponents in his remarks, despite the fact that Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis were featured in his campaign launch video. Monday’s results indicate that a majority of registered voters do not want Biden or Trump to run again.
Top volunteer fundraisers typically contribute their own funds to a campaign but are also expected to reach out to their networks of wealthy potential donors, host events that can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to attend, and meet certain fundraising goals set by the campaign.
This money is in addition to the millions of individual donations of as little as $1 made via the campaign’s website and other channels.
The event on Friday capped a relatively low-key first week of campaign events for the Biden campaign, which included distributing a video to prospective volunteers and airing a television ad in states considered to be political battlegrounds.
Biden has devoted the majority of his time to traditional Oval Office responsibilities, such as hosting South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol during a state visit.
Biden is scheduled to make humorous remarks at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday.
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