The gathering is the latest in an intensifying series of planning moves ahead of Mr. Biden’s expected announcement of a re-election bid.
Top donors to President Biden have received a last-minute invitation to travel to Washington at the end of next week to see Mr. Biden as he gears up for a 2024 campaign, according to more than a half-dozen people who have been invited to or briefed on the event.
Invitations are going out to some of the biggest donors and bundlers for Mr. Biden’s 2020 campaign — those who donated or raised at least $1 million, according to one person. The initial round of invitations is being made by phone instead of email.
The event, which is not a fund-raiser, is seen as an effort to rally donors before what is expected to be an expensive 2024 run.
The gathering is the latest in an intensifying series of discussions and planning meetings between the White House and Democratic National Committee officials ahead of Mr. Biden’s expected campaign. The president has said for months that he plans to run, and last week he said while traveling in Ireland that an announcement would come “relatively soon.”
Even as Biden advisers say they feel under no immediate pressure to formally begin a campaign, there has been some discussion of an announcement as early as next week, which would coincide with the anniversary of Mr. Biden’s entry into the 2020 race.
Some of the details of the donor event appear to still be coming together, but it is expected to include a meeting on Friday evening with Mr. Biden outside the White House, multiple people said. There might also be briefings from some of Mr. Biden’s top strategists on Saturday.
One person familiar with the event described it as something of an outstretched hand after a relatively long drought of interactions between Mr. Biden’s world and some of its donors.
Two governors who have previously been top Democratic fund-raisers, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Phil Murphy of New Jersey, have also been invited because of their past fund-raising, according to two people briefed on the event. Both have been seen as potential candidates in 2024 if Mr. Biden decides not to run.
The White House and the Democratic National Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
