WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is stepping up his re-election efforts this week with four San Francisco-area fundraisers as his campaign bolsters his coffers and lays the strategic foundation for 2024.
In the second half of June, Biden’s campaign will have more than 20 fundraisers involving the president, vice president Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, according to a person involved in the travel plans. of Biden who insisted on anonymity to discuss the timeline. .
More than half of the fundraisers are with the president, who will also travel to New York, Maryland and Illinois. Biden addressed his campaign themes at a Friday fundraising event in Connecticut, saying his goal is to do more to inform voters about his legislative achievements in infrastructure, computer chip production and climate change response programs, among other policies.
“We’ve done a lot,” Biden said on Friday. “We just have to let a lot of people know that we did it and be honest with people. Let’s be as direct as possible.
The fundraising blitz follows Biden’s first campaign rally on Saturday in Philadelphia, where it was endorsed by key unions – the event highlighting a central constituency in a critical state’s largest population center of the battlefield. It was an early show of enthusiasm for Biden’s campaign and a place for him to interact directly with voters before spending much of the rest of the month meeting with deep-pocketed well-wishers.
The wave of pledges precedes the end of the fundraising quarter at the end of the month — and Biden’s July campaign finance report will provide the first test of Democratic donors’ enthusiasm for his re-election effort.
Biden, unlike Trump and the other 2024 GOP candidates, has not revealed any clues about his fundraising since declaring his candidacy in April. And his campaign launch was timed to avoid having to file a campaign finance report for the first quarter, a historically difficult fundraising period.
For the first time in the United States, in the election, Biden has entered into joint fundraising agreements with all 50 state Democratic parties and the Washington, D.C. branch, an arrangement that can help maximize donations while minimizing expenses in the first months of the campaign. It’s part of a larger effort to unite a diverse Democratic coalition behind Biden as Republicans endure what could be a major and divisive primary.
“As MAGA Republicans burn through cash in their primary, competing for the most extreme agenda, the president’s campaign will capitalize on the opportunity to raise significant resources,” Biden’s campaign manager said. , Julie C. Rodriguez, referring to Donald Trump’s “Make America”. Slogan Again”.
Separately, Rodriguez travels across the United States to meet with donors, local officials, and community leaders to help align the coalition. Along with other campaign officials, the tour begins in Atlanta and will include Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and St. Louis.
Not all of Biden’s time in San Francisco will be spent campaigning. On Monday, he will travel to the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and Preserve in Palo Alto, Calif. He plans to visit the coastal wetland and announce $600 million for climate change projects, according to the White House.