Biden, Harris planning first 2024 fund-raisers as soon as next week
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United States President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting on Feb 3 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – United States President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris are gearing up for their first fund-raising events as soon as next week to help kick off their 2024 re-election campaign, according to people briefed on the plans.
Some of the events being planned for Mr Biden include a reception and dinner that could take place in New York City on May 10, the people said.
The final dates for the events could change and the President’s schedule was not finalised as he deals with a debt limit crisis in Washington and a diplomatic trip to the Asia-Pacific region in two weeks.
Ms Harris, meanwhile, is being scheduled for what will likely be her own first fund-raising event for the campaign on May 12 in the key swing state of Georgia, according to a person familiar with the matter.
She was already scheduled to be in Atlanta for a previously announced event benefiting the state Democratic Party.
The Biden campaign declined to comment.
While Mr Biden has largely focused on his presidential duties since announcing his bid for re-election,
The first events being planned for Mr Biden are designed to be intimate, small-group functions of fewer than 40 high-dollar donors, and are expected to generate some US$2.5 million (S$3.3 million) for him, according to the sources.
The money is helping the campaign get an early start on building an audience of voters and potential donors online.
The campaign has already spent US$767,000 on Meta Platforms’ Facebook and US$246,000 on Alphabet-owned Google, according to those companies.
Mr Biden’s campaign in 2020 was the first presidential campaign in history to raise over US$1 billion, as he battled incumbent Republican Donald Trump.
His campaign team and Democratic National Committee (DNC) allies expect they may need more this time to re-elect Mr Biden, hold the Senate and regain control of the House of Representatives, which Republicans took in the 2022 midterm elections.
“You raised more money for me last time than I raised in my whole life,” Mr Biden told top volunteer fund-raisers for his campaign last week in Washington.
“It’s because of you I’m standing here, and it’s going to be because of you we win this next time around.” REUTERS
