(CNBC) President Joe Biden’s fundraising operation started showing cracks in its once formidable armor, almost 10 days after his disastrous presidential debate performance.
Some of Biden’s campaign bundlers have stopped making calls to potential donors since the June 27 debate, according to people familiar with the matter.
“No one is picking up the phone,” said a well-connected Democratic fundraiser, who raises money for Biden and the Democratic Party. This person and others were granted anonymity in order to speak openly about private conversations on a sensitive topic.
A few of his bundlers are limiting their outreach to people in their personal fundraising networks, after they either received no response at all to asks, or else they received furious replies from people who questioned why they should give money to Biden after his substandard debate performance, according to people familiar with the matter.
Bundlers are a crucial piece of any campaign’s financing strategy. Typically wealthy and well connected themselves, bundlers agree to reach out directly to people in their personal networks — both social and professional — to ask for donations for campaigns and joint fundraising committees.
Bundling is more of an art than a science. Some bundlers only ask people they know for small contributions, while others feel comfortable asking for six figure checks. The key is that a bundler spends his or her personal capital asking friends, family, clients and colleagues for what is essentially a favor — to give money to a candidate who shares their values.
Bundlers’ progress is a litmus test for campaign momentum: When a candidate is on the rise, bundlers will be eager to talk to friends and family about the campaign. But if a candidate is in trouble, bundlers often feel the pullback well before it reaches campaign staffers.
Some of Biden’s bundlers are weighing whether to pause their calls, texts and emails because they aren’t convinced he will be in the race much longer, despite what the president says.
“I’m not going to raise any more money or write out checks until I am sure he is the candidate and the campaign finds a date” for his planned fundraiser for Biden, said longtime ally and Biden fundraiser, John Morgan.
“These next few weeks will be key. But my donors need to be sure he is the nominee,” said Morgan, when asked what reassurances he wants to see that Biden will remain in the presidential race.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at a campaign event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 7, 2024.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
Other donors are stepping back because they believe the president should drop out of the race.
“It’s now best for the country and the world for him to pass the baton. It’s going to be a disaster for the country for him to stay in the race,” said Stewart Bainum Jr., the chairman of Choice Hotels and a major Biden donor.
“We’ll help the nominee — whoever that is — after the convention. We won’t do it before the convention,” Bainum told CNBC in an interview Monday. The nominating convention is scheduled for Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
Bainum, who hosted a fundraiser for Biden in Maryland last year, said he believed the president would drop out of the race heading into the convention, and that the nominee would be selected by delegates.
“We want to know who the nominee is. We think there should be an open convention and the delegates can decide,” he added.
Bainum and his wife Sandy Bainum have each given the legal maximum of $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, which benefits the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and dozens of state parties, according to Federal Election Commission records.
If Biden does not drop out, Bainum said, he fears the president will lose to former President Donald Trump, and kill any chance that Democrats have of regaining control of the House, or of holding a majority of seats in the Senate.
