Democrats are growing increasingly concerned about President Joe Biden’s fundraising capabilities for his potential 2024 reelection campaign. Politico reports that Biden’s campaign has not released its second-quarter fundraising totals before the mid-July filing deadline, causing worry among Democrats.
In contrast, both former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, leading contenders in the Republican primary, have already disclosed their campaign’s second-quarter figures. While Biden’s campaign officials maintain confidence, some Democrats fear that the president is being too cautious and not generating enough funds.
According to a national Democratic strategist interviewed by Politico, a significant number of Democratic voters do not support Biden’s reelection bid. This lack of enthusiasm poses a central challenge for his campaign. Furthermore, concerns arise from the fact that Biden’s reelection campaign has hired less than 20 staff members, has yet to announce a headquarters, and did not fund the president’s first-of-the-year rally.
Biden’s political operation argues that heavy campaigning and fundraising are unnecessary at this stage, focusing instead on saving money for later use. However, some Democrats worry about the Biden campaign’s frugality, suggesting that the president and outside fundraising groups could have spent over $2 billion by now. Politico notes that, together with Biden-aligned super PACs, the president has only spent $7.5 million on TV and digital advertisements since launching his campaign in late April, compared to Trump’s $16.4 million during the same period.
Democratic Pennsylvania Representative Brendan Boyle, a member of the Biden campaign’s national advisory board, believes that saving money now will prove wise in the future when it is truly needed. Trump’s campaign, along with the “Save America PAC,” raised $35 million in the second quarter, while DeSantis’ campaign reported $20 million for the same period.
The DeSantis campaign informed Fox News that they had raised the most money in the first quarter of a campaign amongst Republican candidates who were not already in office in over ten years. They boasted that their funds surpassed those of former president Donald Trump’s initial two-quarters of fundraising ($3.8 million in Q4 of 2022 and $14.5 million in Q1 of 2023). In contrast, Biden has not disclosed his fundraising totals, causing further concern among Democrats.
Additionally, Biden did not reveal how much he raised in the first 24 hours of his reelection campaign, unlike DeSantis and Senator Tim Scott, who disclosed amounts of $8.2 million and $2 million, respectively. In 2019, Biden’s campaign reported raising $6.3 million on his first day as a presidential candidate, according to the New York Times.
The Real Clear Politics (RCP) average for the 2024 national Democratic primary, based on polls conducted between June 5 and June 26, shows Biden leading the field by approximately 50 points, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson following at 14.4% and 5.7%, respectively.