Trips to San Francisco and other events have brought in millions more dollars for President Biden’s campaign thanks to the generosity of wealthy Democrats. However, the online microdonation spigot that helped Biden set a new standard for presidential campaign funding has not yet switched on, and there are indications that it may be months before it happens.
According to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission on Saturday, the Biden campaign and his Victory Fund raised $10.2 million from small donations during the three-month fundraising period on June 30. Biden’s comparatively low small-dollar haul was attributed to various factors, all highlighted by Democrats engaged with Biden’s campaign and the world of internet fund-raising.
Inflation has reduced political donations across the board, and both Google and Apple have made it more difficult for email senders to view data about who has accepted solicitations. Donors are getting fed up with the barrage of fundraising emails, and receivers are replying to considerably fewer. Compared to 2018 and 2020, when liberal donations poured in after Donald J. Trump was elected, and 2022, when the Capitol riot, Trump’s election fraud movement, and the overturn of Roe v. Wade all motivated donors, the enthusiasm level among Democrats is lower.
Biden’s fans have not yet been incited to make angry donations to his campaign by his relatively low-key White House and bare-bones campaign. He relies more heavily on the support of the wealthy than either Trump during his reelection campaign or Biden’s rivals during the Democratic primary for president in 2020, according to his financial disclosures.
Once Americans start paying more attention to the Republican primary contest and the nominee to challenge Biden emerges, experts in Democratic online fund-raising predict the pace of online giving to the Biden campaign to ramp up. At least $3.3 million has been poured into advertising on Facebook and Google by the Biden campaign, indicating a commitment to the pursuit of small donations.
