Biden to court top donors in Washington as expected 2024 announcement nears

Top Democratic donors are set to huddle with President Joe Biden in Washington late next week as part of the ramp-up to his expected re-election campaign, eight sources familiar with the meetings confirmed.

The aim of the retreat is for Biden to reactivate his biggest financial supporters ahead of the 2024 presidential election, preparing them to amplify campaign messaging and coalesce behind him, one of the sources said.

Biden will have dinner April 28, a Friday, with top campaign and Democratic National Committee donors and bundlers, a source said, with Saturday follow-ups.

The timing of the gathering is notable, as Biden’s advisers have long identified late April as a potential window for his announcement. Biden has not formally announced a re-election campaign, but he has said he intends to run, and sources emphasized that no timeline has been set in stone.

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In Ireland last week, Biden said an announcement would come “relatively soon,” but as NBC News reported last week, he has felt little urgency to make his intentions known until he is ready to do so. 

Still, preparations to launch his campaign have intensified of late. The donor meetings come days after the fourth anniversary of Biden’s entrance to the 2020 race, although a source familiar with the discussions said it should not necessarily be linked to a potential announcement.

The New York Times was first to report Wednesday that key financial backers got the last-minute invitation to meet with Biden in Washington next week.

The donor meetings are likely to focus on “weighing out” the fundraising logistics of a re-election campaign, a source said, and they will offer Biden’s most prominent financial supporters his acknowledgment before what could prove to be an expensive 2024 campaign.

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Another source briefed on the details said the invited bundlers and donors had raised or donated $1 million or more for Biden. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also got an invitation, a source said.

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The meetings will not be at the White House, one of the sources said.

Officials from the Democratic National Committee reached out personally to representatives for those who were invited, two sources said, characterizing it not as a fundraiser but as an update for “top supporters” about the road ahead.

In 2020, Biden shattered fundraising records by raising more than $1 billion even as the coronavirus pandemic prevented him from holding in-person fundraisers during the general election. Poised for a potential rematch against former President Donald Trump, Democrats expect a flow of small-dollar contributions but want to ensure the party’s biggest donors are still lined up.