Joe Biden’s campaign coffers get a big boost in December from Hollywood celebrities and big shots. Biden went to Los Angeles last month for his first fundraising efforts there in his re-election campaign.
That trip to Los Angles raised more than $15M, according to Jeffrey Katzenberg, a campaign co-chair. The campaign raised almost $100M in the fourth quarter of 2023. The fourth quarter totals exceeded the amount of money raised in the second and third quarters of 2023. About $72M was raised in each of those quarters. The Biden campaign reports that it has $117M in cash on hand. That is the highest amount of cash on hand of any Democrat candidate at this point in the election cycle.
A senior adviser to the campaign, T.J. Ducklo, said, “While most of the Republicans have not yet announced their fundraising numbers, we fully expect to lap them. Several times.” You remember Ducklo, right? He is the former White House deputy press secretary who was suspended without pay and then resigned in disgrace after he threatened to “destroy” a reporter for exposing his personal relationship with a reporter who covered the Biden campaign and administration. He’s with the Biden re-election campaign now.
Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who is competing to be the clear alternative to Donald Trump in today’s Iowa caucuses, raised $24 million in the latest quarter. Other candidates have not announced their totals. The campaign fundraising reports are due on Jan. 31.
The Biden campaign said that the average contribution was $41.88 and that 97% of the contributions were under $200.
The Biden campaign has set up a joint fundraising committee with the DNC and state parties, allowing for the collection of much larger contributions. The Biden Victory Fund can accept contributions up to $929,600 from an individual donor.
The Democrats are in a panic over Biden’s ever-shrinking poll numbers. They likely realize that the Biden campaign will need every dollar it can scrape up.
It is not a mistake that this story came out today. Republicans are getting all the press coverage today because it is Iowa caucus day. The Biden campaign is sending surrogates to Iowa today to try to re-capture some publicity from Republicans. Frankly, it takes some chutzpah for surrogates to parachute into Iowa today when the DNC eliminated Iowa caucuses as the first primary event in the 2024 presidential race. The DNC waved its magic wand and turned the South Carolina primary into the first opportunity for primary voters to vote, thinking it will guarantee a Biden victory.
This year in Iowa, Democrats will have a mail-in Presidential preference. The results will be released on March 5, 2024. The only thing Democrats are showing up to Democrat caucuses for is “to conduct traditional party business. We will elect unbound delegates and alternate delegates to county conventions, elect county central committee members and discuss platform resolutions that can be shared at county conventions.” That is according to the Iowa Democrat Party website.
The Biden surrogates that will be in Iowa today are Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Does the Biden campaign really think those three people will best represent them? They will hold a press conference to try and counter some of the press coverage of the Republicans. Good luck with that trio. Look for the same kind of thing to happen in New Hampshire’s upcoming primary. Democrats are biding their time until South Carolina.
In the meantime, Katzenberg is on a gaslighting tour about the alleged enthusiasm and grassroots support for Biden outside the Beltway.
“That is a level of enthusiasm and commitment and grassroots support … which I just don’t think is being reflected in sort of the Beltway gossip,” Katzenberg said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Monday. Many polls show voters have soured on Biden, including a recent Wall Street Journal poll that has former president Donald Trump beating Biden in a head-to-head matchup between the two.
What’s he going to say? Biden is badly underwater with almost all demographics, according to polls. Everyone paying attention knows this is true. Good luck to the surrogates. They have their work cut out for them.