Biden beefs up campaign fundraising team on heels of strong second quarter
Christian Datoc
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President Joe Biden is adding three former Democratic National Committee officials to his growing reelection campaign fundraising team just weeks after announcing a strong haul in the second quarter.
Biden, the DNC, and their joint committees brought in $72 million in the first 10 weeks of his campaign, by far the highest total for any candidate in the 2024 cycle, and Colleen Coffey, Michael Pratt, and Jessica Porter, the three staffers joining the campaign Thursday, all helped secure that number, according to Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez.
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“Colleen, Michael, and Jessica have already been invaluable to our historic fundraising efforts to date, and will be critical to our efforts to build an unparalleled and historic fundraising operation to ensure we have the war chest we need to win in November 2024,” she said in a statement Thursday morning. “These leaders have incomparable expertise that will ensure we leave no stone unturned to raise money using innovative tactics that reach supporters where they are. Alongside Rufus Gifford and Chris Korge, we are building a powerhouse finance operation that will raise the money we need to win again.”
Pratt, who previously served as the DNC’s finance director, and Coffey, his deputy director, will both join the Biden team as campaign finance co-directors. Porter, formerly the DNC’s online fundraising director, will serve as Biden’s grassroots fundraising director.
In 2020, Biden brought in $700 million through “online, grassroots fundraising,” and 70% of the second quarter haul represented new donors to the campaign. Porter will be expected to continue driving up those online figures, especially with Gen Z voters, a core Biden demographic.
Biden’s announcement comes as two top Republican presidential hopefuls, in particular, are experiencing a campaign cash squeeze.
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Former President Donald Trump, the GOP’s long-standing small donor benchmark, brought in more than $30 million in Q2, the top among Republicans. However, Trump’s PAC has only roughly $4 million cash on hand due to ballooning legal fees stemming from three federal indictments.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) closed July by firing more than 40% of his original campaign staff due to budget concerns. DeSantis campaign officials cited unexpected travel costs but now say the two-term governor has the finances and infrastructure necessary to make it through to the general election.