WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ramps up his reelection effort this week with four fundraisers in the San Francisco area, as his campaign builds up its coffers and lays strategic foundations for 2024.
In the back half of June, Biden's campaign will have over 20 fundraisers involving the president, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, according to a person involved in Biden's travel plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss the schedule.
More than half of the fundraisers are with the president, who will also be traveling to New York, Maryland and Illinois. Biden hit the themes of his campaign at a Friday fundraising event in Connecticut, saying his goal is to do more to tell voters about his legislative accomplishments with infrastructure, computer chip production and programs for responding to climate change, among other policies.
“There’s a lot we’ve done,” Biden said Friday. “We just got to let many people know we’ve done it and be straight with people. Just be as straight as we can.”
The fundraising blitz follows Biden’s first campaign rally on Saturday in Philadelphia, where he was endorsed by key unions — the event highlighting a pivotal constituency in the largest population center of a critical battleground state. It was meant as an early display of enthusiasm for Biden’s campaign, and a venue for him to interact directly with voters before he spends much of the rest of the month meeting with deep-pocketed benefactors.
The flurry of engagements comes ahead of the end of the fundraising quarter at the end of the month — and Biden’s campaign finance report in July will provide the first test of Democratic donor enthusiasm for his reelection effort.
Biden, unlike Trump and other 2024 GOP contenders, has not revealed any clues about his fundraising haul 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 rough fundraising period.
For the first time in U.S, elections, Biden has joint fundraising agreements with all 50 state Democratic parties and the branch in Washington, D.C., an arrangement that can help maximize donations while minimizing expenses in the early months of the campaign. It's part of a broader effort to unite a diverse Democratic coalition behind Biden as the Republicans undergo what could be a large and divisive primary.
“While MAGA Republicans burn cash in their primary, competing for whose agenda is the most extreme, the president’s campaign will be capitalizing on the opportunity to raise significant resources," said Biden’s campaign manager Julie C. Rodriguez, referring to Donald Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Separately, Rodriguez is traveling across the U.S. 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 devoted to the campaign. On Monday, he'll go to the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and Preserve in Palo Alto, California. He plans to tour the coastal wetland area and announce $600 million for projects to address climate change, according to the White House.