Spark fundraising gusher

Dem debates spark fundraising gusher for breakout stars

Candidates are rushing to raise money before Sunday's campaign finance deadline.

By MAGGIE SEVERNS and ZACH MONTELLARO

The Democratic digital fundraising platform ActBlue raised $6.9 million on Thursday alone — the party’s biggest day in more than two months and a sign of fresh energy coursing through 2020 campaigns after this week’s debates.

The party’s presidential candidates are only hours away from their next big test, a Sunday fundraising deadline that will show momentum for some candidates and flagging fortunes for others. Fresh off their first debates, Democrats spent the week working furiously to capitalize on the moment, with multiple candidates turning in record or near-best fundraising days as their campaigns barraged supporters with emails and texts asking for cash.

California Sen. Kamala Harris raised more money on Thursday than any other day since her first-week campaign rally in Oakland, spokeswoman Lily Adams said. A campaign aide for Cory Booker said the New Jersey senator brought in more donors Wednesday than on any day except his launch and the last day of the first quarter. And Julián Castro scored a big payday after touting his immigration positions and clashing with former Rep. Beto O’Rourke on Wednesday, raising three times more money than his previous record day, according to the campaign.

“We have a very short window of time to capitalize on this incredible momentum,” read one fundraising plea sent via text by Castro, who was praised for his debate performance on Wednesday night. “It’s so critical that we seize this moment. We can’t overstate the urgency.”

The fundraising surges highlight the critical role of the debates, especially for lesser-known candidates who need more money and attention to fuel their campaigns. And in this case, the debates give candidates a chance to prove they have momentum again over the next two weeks, as campaigns disclose how much money they raised over the second quarter of the year, which ends Sunday night.

“A lot of these candidates are struggling to survive,” said Steve Westly, a Democratic fundraiser and former California state controller. “What this really is, is the winnowing down of candidates — to who will be the five or six or eight to continue.”

Well-known candidates who sizzle on the debate stage can also benefit greatly. Harris, who already had drawn a mix of big- and small-dollar donors heading into the debates, won praise from in-demand donors who could help power her bid as she seeks to compete with Biden and the wealthy donors who have flocked to the former vice president since he launched his campaign.

“She had some brilliant moments. And not one. There were three or four really surprising moments,” said Bill Stetson, a Democratic donor who helped raise more than half a million dollars for each of Obama’s presidential campaigns and is undecided on whom he will support in 2020. “I was very, very impressed.”

Stetson, who recently attended a fundraiser for Biden, said he’s never met Harris before. But he said he’ll be looking closely at her candidacy after watching both her debate performance and post-debate interviews. And his phone exploded with texts and tweets from friends after Thursday’s debate, he said.

Donors also heaped praise on Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s debate performance. Warren is the only candidate who has explicitly vowed not to hold closed-door fundraisers with wealthy donors during the primary, which has cut her off from direct personal access to the wealthy — though some rich potential supporters said that after this week, they are taking a closer look and may donate anyway.

“I think [Warren is] running a very good campaign. I have considered supporting her,” said San Francisco-based megadonor Susie Tompkins Buell, who said she is not supporting a candidate in the race but cited Warren, Harris and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg as her favorites from the debates. “I think she’s doing very well and I am open to that, I’m just waiting to see how things go in the next few weeks.”

The two weeks after Sunday will mark the second time that candidates have to report their fundraising figures — and the first time that Biden will report his. The fundraising is both a marker of success for a campaign, and a necessity for operating one. And the climate for raising money is ruthlessly competitive.

“Second quarters are always a little harder. Donors are less enthusiastic, there’s less happening, there’s more candidates, it’s hard out there nationally with small donors,” said Connor Farrell, CEO of the digital fundraising firm Left Rising.

Many major donors and fundraisers, meanwhile, remain undecided. Some have contributed to Biden and Buttigieg in recent weeks and expect both of them to announce huge sums raised — but the donors haven’t exclusively pledged their support to either candidate, making it entirely possible someone else could eventually snag their support.

“The bottom line is still, who can beat Trump?” said Alix Ritchie, a Democratic donor. “At the end of the day, that’s the judgment I have to make about who ultimately, I’ll put my shoulder behind the wheel and work like the devil for.”

Ritchie praised Harris’ debate performance — but he said the answer to her “big question” isn’t clear yet. She has donated to all the leading female candidates, plus Biden and Buttigieg, and she will help host a fundraiser for Buttigieg on Cape Cod in July.

Biden is scheduled to be in San Francisco, a Democratic fundraising capital, on Friday and Saturday, where he’s scheduled to attend a trio of events with wealthy supporters.

“He’s got extraordinary support here in Silicon Valley,” said Westly, who is supporting Biden in the race. “You’re going to see strong numbers for [Biden] when the June 30 numbers are in.”