Biden's campaign says it raised $127 million in June as it tries to calm donors after unsteady debate
President Biden's campaign says it raised $127 million in June, calling it the best fundraising month of his reelection campaign. The campaign also said it entered July with $240 million across its committees, an increase from last month despite expanding its campaign footprint and a $50 million ad buy in June.
The money is a welcome sign for the campaign, which is still dealing with political fallout from his party after a disastrous, unsteady performance from Mr. Biden at last week's debate. A CBS News poll from Sunday showed that voters, too, are steadily losing confidence in the 81-year-old president's mental and cognitive health.
Mr. Biden's campaign says 95% of its contributions for the second fundraising quarter (April through June) were under $200, and that 864,000 of the donors are making their first donation this election cycle.
From April through June, the Biden-Harris campaign raised a total of $264 million. It was outraised by the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee in April and May, when they saw a boost in support after Trump's conviction in the "hush money" payment trial in New York City. Trump's campaign has not yet released its June numbers.
But the Biden campaign also benefited from two major hauls in June: a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles that brought in $30 million, and $38 million raised on debate day through the weekend after. The campaign says the hour after the debate set a record for grassroots funding, and that debate day itself was its best day for small dollar donations.
"This election will be close and the stakes couldn't be higher – which is why [June's] fundraising haul matters so much. It will ensure that we reach and mobilize the voters who will decide this election every single day," said Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez.
Exacts of June's fundraising haul, for both Biden and Trump, will not be known until later this month when both campaigns officially file its respective reports.
Biden's debate performance heightened existing concerns about his age and mental fitness. A CBS News poll showed that only 27% of registered voters believe Mr. Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president, down from 35% in early June. Comparatively, 50% said they believe Trump does have the cognitive health to serve.
The incumbent president and his campaign have been moving forward, airing an ad Monday that features clips of a much more energetic and focused Mr. Biden at a North Carolina rally the day after the debate (where he did have a teleprompter and was surrounded by supporters).
"Folks, I know I'm not a young man. But I know how to do this job. I know right from wrong, I know how to tell the truth," Biden said at the rally in Raleigh, N.C.
They've also been holding meetings to calm skittish donors, including one call led by campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon on Monday afternoon with more than 600 listeners, according to two attendees of the call.
On that call, Dillon touted post-debate internal polling from the campaign that showed the horse race in the battleground states between himself and Trump is unchanged after the debate, with Trump still leading in a head-to-head matchup by 1% (46% to 45%), and by 2% when third-party candidates are factored in.
A memo of the internal poll by Hart Research says that its May polling had similar gaps between Mr. Biden and Trump.
"While some of President Biden's 2020 voters say they feel more negative to him as a result of the debate, most of these voters are sticking with Biden: 64% support him in the multi-candidate trial heat, and 77% support him in the head-to-head with Trump," wrote pollster Geoff Garin in a memo.
