Biden campaign announces $127 million fundraising in June

The Biden campaign raised $127 million in the month of June, a strong showing after some signs that its fundraising was slowing — and a bright spot for the campaign after days of trying to dispel concerns about President Joe Biden’s age and viability following his debate performance. CNN .

June marked “the best month of the campaign cycle,” according to a press release, which noted that the campaign now has “$240 million in cash on hand — up from $212 million last month.”

In the days since the debate, amid intense criticism of Biden’s faltering performance — along with questions about his continued political viability — Biden’s campaign has repeatedly pointed to strong fundraising numbers as a sign of his popular strength. The argument is aimed at rebuffing those who suggest that the president could lose support as a result of his performance.

Biden campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon told members of the National Campaign Finance Committee on Monday that the team is “clear-eyed, not Pollyannaish,” two participants on the call said. to CNN but offered no indication that Biden was reconsidering running for a second term.

A virtual meeting of about 500 donors, whose photos are spread across 21 pages of Zoom screens, was convened in hopes of easing tensions and answering questions that top Democrats have been raising in response to Biden’s somber debate night. O’Malley Dillon suggested that Biden’s health was good, the two sources said. She pointed to the president’s health report released by his doctors earlier this year, with his physician declaring him fit to serve.

“He’s probably in better health than most of us,” O’Malley Dillon said, according to attendees, one of whom said the comment was offensive and dismissive of real concerns about Biden in the wake of his debate.

A member of the National Finance Committee who participated in the call said it was disappointing that Biden’s top official sought to downplay concerns rather than listen to them.

The campaign raised more than $33 million between Thursday (28) and Sunday (30) morning, according to a campaign official. And Thursday, the official said, was the campaign’s best fundraising day to date.

Biden’s team has built a sizable fund, which it has used to organize the campaign in key battleground states, along with significant spending on advertising. There are more than 200 campaign offices coordinating with more than 1,000 staffers in key battleground states, the campaign said.

Nearly two-thirds of the $127 million raised in June, the campaign said, came from grassroots donations, with 95 percent of the campaign’s donations this quarter under $200. Some of the total was financed by a Los Angeles fundraiser featuring former President Barack Obama, George Clooney and Julia Roberts that brought in more than $30 million, and a Virginia fundraiser for Bill and Hillary Clinton that raised more than $8 million.

Still, the debate stirred anxiety among new Democratic donors, who largely fell into three camps. Some argued against a campaign to pressure the president to drop out, another group said party leaders should consider drastic measures only after the fallout from Thursday night was more closely examined, while a third group proactively called on Democrats to begin the process of finding a new candidate.

Biden’s campaign and surrogates sought to downplay his performance in the debate, asking voters to consider the 90 minutes they spent watching him in the context of his three and a half years in office. Sensing the political fragility of the moment, both Biden and his campaign acknowledged that he had a bad night.

Chris Korge, finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee, used Monday’s (1) Zoom call to urge donors to work harder and rally behind Biden.

“Everybody just needs to breathe through their nose for a minute,” Korge told donors, two participants on the call said, imploring donors not to panic about the trajectory of Biden’s race with former President Donald Trump.

Quentin Fulks, the deputy campaign manager, told donors that negative media coverage of Biden was to blame for any drop in the polls, not the president’s debate performance. He said editorials and columnists calling for Biden to drop out of the race were “overreacting.”

But some senior Democratic officials and supporters close to the White House have balked at the tone and language that campaign officials have adopted as part of their defense.

A senior Democratic official told CNN that the tone was “disrespectful.” Another senior Democrat in close contact with the White House said it was “disgusting.”

Several people told CNN that the tone is one of contempt and complete dismissal of the very serious and widespread concerns within the Democratic Party about whether Biden is fit to seek and serve a second term.

In a fundraising email sent over the weekend under the name of deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty, the campaign acknowledged the widespread panic Biden’s debate performance had caused.

“If you’re like me, you’ll get a lot of texts or calls from people about the state of the race after Thursday. Maybe it was your panicked aunt, your MAGA uncle, or some smug podcaster,” the email began.

The message later said: “The bedwetting brigade is calling for Joe Biden to ‘drop out’. This is the best possible way for Donald Trump to win and for us to lose.”

While the promising fundraising numbers come after one of Biden’s lowest points politically, they also come after a personal low for his opponent, who was convicted in late May on 34 criminal charges. Biden’s campaign suggested that donors were energized by Trump’s conviction.

“Our second quarter fundraising is a testament to the committed and growing base of supporters who stand firmly behind the president and vice president, and clear evidence that our voters understand the choice in this election between President Biden fighting for the American people and Donald Trump fighting for himself as a convicted felon,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.

Biden attended high-dollar fundraisers in New York City and East Hampton, New York, as well as Red Bank, New Jersey, over the weekend.

June’s performance comes after two straight months in which Trump’s political operation outperformed Biden’s campaign, due in part to a flood of donations following Trump’s criminal conviction.