Presidential candidates visit Bay Area as fundraising battle heats up
MOUNTAIN VIEW - President Joe Biden was greeted by California Governor Gavin Newsom as he stepped off Air Force One for a two-day stop in the Bay Area where he will tout the administration's record on the environment and attend several fundraisers.
"I've seen wildfire devastation across the West -- burning more acres to the ground than there are square miles in the state of Maryland," the president said during a brief visit to the wetlands in East Palo Alto.
Supporters and curious onlookers lined the path of the president's motorcade Monday afternoon.
"My son Bennett said, 'Dad, let's go wave at the limousine. I said, 'OK, that's seems like a cool thing to do," says Ken Rosenberg, the former mayor of nearby Mountain View.
Rosenberg says it's not uncommon for political candidates to visit the Bay Area to fill their campaign coffers.
"We call it 'The Silicon Valley ATM.' But honestly, there is a lot of activism going on and progressive activism in Silicon Valley. And for them to come here this is about as close as we can get often," he said.
And it's not just Democrats. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited Sacramento and the Bay Area as his newly announced campaign tested the political waters.
"If you're Governor DeSantis, you fly into Sacramento to juxtapose against that mano a mano battle you're going on -- that shadowboxing that goes on with Governor Newsom. But then you come down and you're just a few miles away from the President of the United States and your potential rivals to show you're viable," said Sonoma State University Political Science Professor David McCuan.
McCuan says the campaigns have a July 1st deadline to report their fundraising for the second quarter of the year -- an early indication of the strength of their candidacy.
Ken's son Bennett says while the focus is money, he hopes the candidates don't neglect the message and issues important to voters.
"We need to accelerate the turn to heal our environment. Because I'm thinking about my future; I'm thinking about my kids future," he said.