President Biden's reelection campaign expects to raise $15 mn in five days

By Justin Sink and John Harney

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign expects to raise more than $15 million in a series of events across the country and other appeals over the next five days, a person familiar with the efforts said Tuesday night. 
 

Biden returned to Washington on Tuesday night after attending three fundraisers in Boston, with the singer and songwriter James Taylor performing at a concert for donors. Wedding planner Bryan Rafanelli and former hedge fund manager Joe Mazzella were among the business leaders on the guest lists for those gatherings. 

The president has been accelerating his fundraising efforts in recent weeks with less than a month before the election year begins.

On Friday, he plans to travel to Los Angeles, where Hollywood luminaries including the directors Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner and producer Shonda Rhimes will be among the hosts at a gala fundraiser.  

That event will feature First Lady Jill Biden and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in addition to the president, according to an invitation obtained by Bloomberg. 

Biden’s campaign announced that it and the Democratic National Committee had raised $71.3 million in the previous quarter.  Biden had nearly $91 million in cash on hand, though his fundraising efforts fell short of then-President Donald Trump’s during the same period of his 2020 reelection campaign.

Biden’s expected haul tops the $9.3 million that Trump raised from big donors for his reelection effort in December 2019. Barack Obama raised $9.2 million in December 2011, though contributors could give a maximum of only $33,300 then. Biden can raise $929,600 from individuals, with the money split among his campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties.

At one of the fundraisers in Massachusetts on Tuesday, Biden said he might not have sought reelection were Trump not seeking to return to the White House, arguing that the former president poses a grave threat to American democracy.