Bill Harris, a former chief executive of Intuit and PayPal, said he is leading a small group of Democratic donors who have pledged $2 million to help fund presidential debates among potential nominees if President Biden decides to step aside.
The group of donors is pressing for an open competition for the Democratic nomination that would draw public attention if Biden drops out. The group is looking for robust debates rather than merely coalescing around Vice President Harris or another nominee, according to Bill Harris, who declined to name the other donors.
Bill Harris described the vice president – a likely front-runner to replace Biden if he bows out – as “a very strong candidate.” But he and the other donors financing the effort favor a “mini-primary” similar to what Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) outlined Wednesday. (A Clyburn spokeswoman later said that he was speaking hypothetically and that he supported Biden’s reelection. Clyburn also told MSNBC on Tuesday that he would support the vice president if Biden exits the race.)
Some Democrats have voiced concern about the chaos that might ensue if Biden exits the race, leaving the party without a nominee four months before Election Day. But Bill Harris said Democrats need some excitement to engage voters in a race that many of them had tuned out, at least before Biden’s weak debate last week with former president Donald Trump.
“It’s not that we have to protect ourselves from chaos and drama,” Harris said. “We need drama and a little chaos. I think it can be refreshing and energizing.”
He said he has been concerned about the strength of Biden’s candidacy since last year.
He said he financed two private polls conducted by Emerson College starting last year to ask voters about their worries about his age, with a third poll underway.
He also set up a super PAC called Democrats for the Next Generation to examine “whether we would be better served with the next generation of leaders,” he said. (The super PAC is unrelated to another group, Next Generation PAC, that recently started raising money for whoever replaces Biden on the ticket if he decides to step aside.)
Harris gave $620,000 to the Biden Victory Fund in 2020, according to campaign finance records, but he said he had not contributed to Biden’s campaign this cycle because of his concerns about Biden’s age. He has directed his donations instead to Democratic House and Senate candidates.
Biden’s faltering debate persuaded Harris to set his effort in motion.
He dismissed the argument made by some Democrats that donors and Washington types were the only ones shaken by the debate, not regular voters.
“It’s the opposite,” he said. “The voters have been there for a long time, and it’s the Democratic establishment and the Beltway community that has been so slow and reluctant to face reality.”
Democrats for the Next Generation’s website highlights 10 Democrats under 60 years old, including the vice president and others who have been mentioned as potential nominees if Biden drops out: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Those are the types of candidates whom Harris hopes would participate in the debates that he and the other donors envision if Biden relinquishes the nomination, he said, although he is not backing a specific candidate. “Televised debates with such a powerful cast will grip the country and instantly catapult at least some of them into the public imagination,” he said.
Biden told reporters on Friday that he was completely ruling out exiting the race despite the concerns about whether he can win after his debate performance.
“Ever since then, there’s been a lot of speculation,” Biden said at a rally in Madison, Wis. “‘What’s Joe going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out?’ Well, here’s my answer: I am running, and I’m going to win again!”
But Harris said he thought it was inevitable that Biden would step aside.
“I don’t think it matters whether the president does well or does poorly this evening – this concern is bigger than a single interview and bigger than a single debate,” he wrote in a follow-up email, referring to Biden’s much-anticipated interview with ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos. “It is a rolling thunder that will not crest or subside.”
(c) Washington Post