Vice President Kamala Harris is already seeing a wave of big money donor support following President Joe Biden dropping out of the race, with the help of bundlers who have assisted her in past races, according to people familiar with the matter.
Moments after Biden announced he would drop out of the race for president and endorsed Harris, those who helped raise money during her failed 2020 Democratic primary fight and successful 2016 Senate campaign immediately mobilized with outreach to wealthy donors, according to these people. Those who spoke to CNBC did so on the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely.
Some of the party’s top financiers had opted to hold back funds because they believed Biden should not lead the ticket after his disastrous debate performance on June 27 versus former President Donald Trump.
Among the top party fundraisers now planning to help Harris is longtime Wall Street executive Marc Lasry, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Lasry helped raise money for the vice president when she ran against Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary. He later raised campaign cash for Biden when he beat Trump during that election cycle.
Venture capitalist Reid Hoffman plans to donate even more in support of Harris’ candidacy than he did when he backed Biden over Trump throughout the 2024 presidential election cycle, according to a person familiar with the matter. Hoffman has donated at least $10 million to supportive Biden political action committees so far this election, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Hoffman endorsed Harris in a social media post. Hoffman’s spokeswoman declined to comment.
Before Biden dropped out, Harris’ allies were planning a fundraiser in the ritzy New York Hamptons region for early August, which was set to feature Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, some of the people explained. Some donors were deleting the emailed invite out of frustration with Biden, these people explained.
Now, the expectation is that a Hamptons event next month will likely sell out with many donors getting off the sidelines to help Harris, according to a person familiar with the event.
Alexander Soros, the son of Democratic megadonor George Soros, said in a social media post on Sunday after Biden dropped out that “it’s time for us all to unite around Kamala Harris and beat Donald Trump.”
But the major donor support for Harris isn’t universal across the Democratic Party, suggesting she has some work to do in order to get them on her side.
Stewart Bainum Jr., the chairman of Choice Hotels and a major Biden donor, told CNBC he is still sitting on the sidelines and won’t jump in to help Harris because he feels there should be a battle at the upcoming convention with other potential nominees having the chance to lead the party. The Democratic National Convention is set to take place in Chicago in August.
Another veteran Biden fundraiser said there should be a “mini primary” over the coming weeks heading into the…
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