WASHINGTON — President Biden’s re-election campaign is raising huge amounts of cash.
And the election-year strategy, in a nutshell, is about spending more and spending more quickly.
Not only is Mr. Biden looking to project himself as a fundraising juggernaut this month, but his campaign is also making big early investments in both terrestrial and airwaves, with Republican Donald Trump They hope to create such a huge organizational advantage that the next generation will struggle to catch up. .
But while the money flowing in gave; Biden and the Democratic Party This is a big advantage for cash, but it is also becoming clear that Biden will need it.
Throughout his business and political life, Trump’s provocations have garnered almost unlimited media attention. Meanwhile, despite his presidency, Biden has often struggled to break through the noise with his own message.
That means Biden will need a lot of cash to do so. all-out battleground state Thousands of votes could make the difference between winning and losing.
In addition to that, millennials, who played a key role in the 2020 coalition government, as well as even younger voters, in a much more fragmented media ecosystem that leans more towards streaming services than traditional broadcast and cable. There is also the issue of reach.
Biden’s organizing and advocacy efforts began in earnest this month, with the campaign leveraging his efforts. state of the union address as a starting point to open 100 new field offices across the country and increase the number of paid staff in battleground states to 350.
It’s also currently in the midst of a $30 million TV and digital ad campaign targeting specific communities, including Black, Hispanic and Asian voters.
As an example of the incumbent president’s organizational advantage, Biden campaign officials said his re-election campaign in February had 480 local staffers, while President Trump and the Republican National Committee had 311 staffers. .
“Before President Trump and MAGA Republicans open a single office, we will strengthen our campaign headquarters and field offices, and we will continue to strengthen our campaign headquarters and field offices across the country,” Biden said Friday at a National Finance Committee meeting in New York. “We are hiring staff,” he boasted. Some of his biggest donors and fundraisers from within the city and beyond.
Despite a significant disadvantage on the ground, Trump was not prevented from winning the 2016 presidential election. The Democratic Party remembers this fact vividly.
“This is one of Trump’s stubborn challenges,” said Robbie Mook, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign manager. “Mr. Trump is the best organizer for Mr. Trump, and Mr. Trump can inspire people from the podium.”
But Mook added that the Biden campaign is doing what it needs to do, and that the State of the Union address will effectively mobilize its base and tap into the anti-Trump energy that will inevitably motivate many Democrats this year. He pointed out that this is a powerful example of the method.
“The most magical and scariest part of politics is that we don’t know until election day,” Mook said. “So if I were them, I wouldn’t want to leave anything on the table. The great thing about having a resource advantage is that you can have all these different things.”
Even Biden’s brick-and-mortar campaign campaign is likely to cost more this year.
Unlike 2020, when the pandemic kept many Americans stuck at home, Biden will have to travel more while also holding a socially distanced virtual election last time in his basement. It would also require building a political infrastructure, which is much more expensive than a movement.
There will also be costs to the re-election campaign that Trump does not have to face. Reimburse the federal government for Air Force One usage fees..
So far, the campaign says it has reimbursed $4.5 million in fees for using the president’s plane for political activities.
Mook said decisions about how to strategically invest campaign funds are never made as nimble as his staff would like, leading to them spending too much money or spending too quickly. He said there was a risk not only of spending too late in an election year, but also of spending too late in an election year.
Throughout the fall and summer of last year, Democrats were concerned about Biden’s lack of early fundraising and campaign efforts. The Hollywood Writers and Actors Guild Strike didn’t help either – The pro-union chairman has been effectively sidelined. It will move away from the local fundraising that has long supported the party’s political ambitions.
Fast forward to the present day, and speculation about his fundraising activities has subsided. Aside from raising millions of dollars at big-ticket events across the country and raising $26 million at Thursday night’s event featuring Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, the president has raised 50 new funds in recent weeks. He frequently points out that 10,000 people donated. He claimed to be expanding his appeal.
Democratic donors and fundraisers say even donors friendly to the president are now giving.
“I think people really want to have their voices heard,” said Michael Smith, a major Hollywood donor and fundraiser. He hosted an event in Los Angeles featuring rocker Lenny Kravitz earlier this year and held another in Palm Springs last week. First Lady, Jill Biden. “They understand this is an investment.”
Trump campaign officials acknowledge that Biden and Democrats will likely have more money to spend, but Trump will still be able to run an effective campaign given his ability to garner media coverage. claims that it can be done.
“Our digital online fundraising continues to soar, investment from major donors is increasing, and Democrats are fearful of President Trump’s ability to raise money,” said Stephen Chan, communications director for the Trump campaign. “There is,” he said. “Not only are we raising the necessary funds, we are deploying strategic assets that will help send President Trump back to the White House and push the Republican Party over the finish line.”
But given President Trump’s propensity for explosive statements, it could also hurt both sides, and Democrats are sure to use their financial advantage to run ads. Legal fees from Trump’s myriad lawsuits are also sure to impact his cash flow. Records show his political activities have cost him at least $80 million in legal fees over the past two years.
“Trump has been a dictator from day one, promising to suspend the Constitution and reinstate political violence even worse than on January 6th. His MAGA policies are so toxic and extreme that they are a hotly contested “Hundreds of thousands of Republicans in the state voted for Nikki Haley over him. How unique after she dropped out!” Biden campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt said. “Donald Trump doesn’t have the resources or the will to win back those critical voters.”
There’s also the unanswered question of whether Trump will be able to make the same breakthrough he did in 2016, when he was a political newcomer. Or as he was omnipresent when the 2020 election brought him to office and locked down Americans glued to their television sets.
“As the media landscape and where voters get their news is changing, assumptions based on President Trump’s ability to dominate the mainstream media conversation should be questioned,” said a leading Democratic super PAC. said Josh Schwerin, a Democratic strategist who previously worked at Priorities USA. 2020 presidential election campaign.
“Less voters are getting their news from traditional news outlets, and it’s getting harder and harder to find ways to get information in front of them, and it costs money,” he said. said. “Both candidates are going to have to do this. And this is one place where having an economic advantage will be of great benefit to the Biden campaign.”
