In a significant blow to President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, major Democratic donors are holding $90 million in donations to the largest pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, hostage as long he remains on the top of the Democratic ticket, according to a report from the New York Times.
Sources familiar with the situation reported that the frozen contributions include multiple eight-figure commitments, and the article notes that the decision “is one of the most concrete examples of the fallout from Mr. Biden’s poor debate performance at the end of June.”
Future Forward declined to comment on the specifics of donor conversations or the amounts involved, but an adviser from the group mentioned that they anticipated that contributors who had paused their donations would return “once the current uncertainty about the ticket was resolved.”
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Despite the drying up of donations, Biden remains defiant. “I believe I’m the best qualified to govern,” he asserted during his “big boy” press conference Thursday evening. “And I think I’m the best qualified to win.”
Donors clearly don’t think so.
The two people briefed on the frozen pledges declined to say which individual donors were pulling back promised checks, which were estimated to total around or above $90 million. It was not clear how much of the pledged money was earmarked for Future Forward’s super PAC versus its nonprofit arm, which has also been running advertising in key battleground states. The super PAC has been shying away from making major strategic decisions until it gets clarity on who will be atop the ticket, according to a separate person close to the group.
The cash freeze comes as some advisers around Mr. Biden are discussing how to persuade the president to exit the race, and as his campaign has begun to test Vice President Kamala Harris in head-to-head surveys of voters against former President Donald J. Trump. The number of congressional Democrats calling for Mr. Biden to step aside is growing by the day.
Major donors have their doubts about Biden’s ability to secure a victory in November, and this is threatening his July fundraising significantly.
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While some polls have shown Biden performing better in head-to-head match-ups with Trump, other polls have shown that his approval ratings are worse than his potential alternatives.
A leaked poll from a group closely linked with Future Forward after the debate showed that the super PAC had tested the strength of potential Biden alternatives, including Ms. Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary.
The poll showed that Mr. Biden had a worse overall favorability rating than all the alternatives.
This is a true disaster for Biden. Without campaign cash, he can’t hope to compete against Trump. As we’ve reported before, Biden’s grassroots fundraising is far, far behind Trump’s. Biden needs rich donors to fund his campaign, and without them, he can’t hope to continue.
