According to a Sunday report from The Hill , former Vice President Joe Biden ‘s allies are growing increasingly concerned about the 2020 presidential election . They fear that the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee will not be able to compete with President Donald Trump when it comes to fundraising.
Analyses suggest that the Republican National Committee and Trump campaign have a $187 million advantage over their Democratic counterparts. Last month, the former vice president raised $18.1 million more than in February, but he is not expected to surpass Hillary Clinton’s 2016 haul.
The coronavirus pandemic is sinking the economy and wealthy Democratic donors are apparently not willing to spend money on politics. This is especially problematic for Biden, who is not exactly known for having a strong base of grassroots supporters willing to make recurring contributions to his campaign.
A Democrat who has raised money for Biden in the past described Trump’s advantage as “insurmountable,” explaining that the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing both campaigns to spend more money on television advertisements.
“I don’t see how you make that up. People say you don’t need as much for this election because you don’t have to spend on a field team because of the pandemic. But people are stuck at home so you better be able to match their TV spending.”
“Biden does not have a strong grassroots fundraising apparatus. Now he doesn’t even have in-person events he can go to, it’s just these Zoom calls. And now throw in the pandemic,” the Democrat added.
According to a Biden aide, fundraising is the campaign’s “biggest problem right now in the general election.”
Nevertheless, the Democrats will put up a fight. As The Hill notes, since Biden is now presumptively the party’s nominee, he is legally permitted to accept large checks via the Democratic National Committee. The Biden campaign has made an arrangement with the DNC, the two are joining forces and fundraising together. Furthermore, the former vice president will have a number of super PACs backing him against Trump.
According to Addisu Demissie, who served as New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s campaign manager, “every challenger” faces similar issues. Demissie pointed to Trump’s 2016 campaign, noting that the president was significantly outspent by Clinton donors, but still managed to win in the end.
Republicans have their own set of issues to deal with, it seems. GOP insiders are reportedly worried about Trump’s chances of re-election. They allegedly believe that the president has bungled the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and fear that the Democratic Party will be able to take back the Senate.
