US: Joe Biden, DNC ink fundraising deal as he widens party influence

Joe Biden is expanding his influence over Democratic Party with a new fundraising deal and a leership shuffle at Democratic National Committee. Biden, presumptive Democratic presidential minee, and DNC on Friday began a joint fundraising pact that will allow wealthy dors to contribute up to $360,600 to party’s fall campaign, a total far exceeding $5,600 maximum that dors can give directly to Biden’s campaign.

ditionally, longtime Democratic power player Mary Beth Cahill will take over manment of DNC, replacing Seema Nanda as chief executive officer under party Chairman Tom Perez. Cahill, who mand John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, alrey has been a quiet force during Perez’s tenure, leing Democrats’ primary debate process and helping plan summer convention, among or tasks. DNC officials and Biden campaign aides confirmed arrangements Friday. “Our goal is to ensure that we put Joe Biden in best position possible to beat Donald Trump, and this joint fundraising agreement allows us to do just that” Cahill said in a statement Friday.

“ DNC has built an organization that has proven it can win up and down ballot, and that is exactly what we will do in vember.”

Democrats have lagged Republicans in fundraising throughout 2020 presidential cycle, with President Donald Trump having spent months raising huge sums for his re-election campaign and party. Republican National Committee ended first quarter of 2020 with almost $250 million stockpiled, between four and five times as much as Biden and national Democrats. That gap could put increasing pressure on kinds of dors who can max out to party and minee under new agreement.

fundraising partnership is a routine pact between a minee and national party, but it’s gotten Democrats in trouble before. Ahe of 2016 election, party entered a deal with candidate Hillary Clinton well before she secured mination. When details emerged, it became a touchstone for Bernie Sanders’ supporters, who alleged that party leers stacked deck for former secretary of state against insurgent Sanders campaign. Perez deliberately held off on such a deal this year to help bolster his claims of an impartial process as Sanders again found himself as last rival standing against eventual presumptive minee.

In fact, former candidate Kamala Harris, a California senator and potential vice presidential pick, launched a joint DNC agreement earlier this month, while party was still in talks with Biden campaign after Sanders ended his bid. Biden’s deal does t yet include state parties, but DNC officials said those negotiations are ongoing. idea is that money from top dors can be distributed among Biden’s campaign, national party operations such as boosting voter file that candidates use to contact potential supporters, and state parties’ coordinated campaigns that are designed to turut Democratic voters for entire ticket. minees typically take over operations of national party, even if indirectly.

Biden’s campaign manr, Jen O’Malley Dillon, if a former top DNC staffer. And Cahill, given her experience with Kerry in 2004, is familiar with dynamics between a minee and party. O’Malley Dillon called Cahill’s experience “invaluable” and said she’s “thrilled to have her as a partner.”

Biden’s campaign has been mostly circumspect about his involvement in party, especially when it comes to planning minating convention. Perez said Thursday he expects an in-person convention, but Biden and party officials have left open possibility that some or all of proceedings will be virtual.

Biden’s campaign and Sanders’ representatives also continue to negotiate over various policy ideas and distribution of 4,700 or so convention delegates. Those private talks are intended to stave off kind of public disputes that marred run-up to 2016 convention and hampered Clinton’s fall campaign because of bitterness among some Sanders supporters.