Will the Middle-Class Still Support Blue Collar Joe Biden? – President Joe Biden has spent years carefully crafting his blue-collar persona. He often talks of his humble roots, and by most accounts could be an example of the American dream.
However, the middle class – which proved vital to his 2020 victory – may not be buying it. According to a report from The New York Times, even as wealthy Democrats have “thrown their money behind the president’s re-election bid,” the same can’t be said of the party’s small donors.
The good news for Blue Collar Joe is that he was able to raise $10 million in just 36 hours from wealthy donors during his jaunt to San Francisco. He raked in even more in trips to Chicago and New York, while fundraising events in Washington are proof that the big-donor class is “Ridin’ With Biden” again.
Outraising Trump
The president posted a “blockbuster” three-month fundraising total of $72 million – dwarfing the second-quarter fundraising totals already announced by the campaigns of former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The Biden-Harris Campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and their joint fundraising committees have $77 million in their war chest according to a report from NPR. Because Biden is the incumbent president and his campaign is fully integrated with the DNC, the combined fundraising total represents all the funds that the reelection effort could draw upon, NPR added.
Though Biden has raised more money than his GOP rivals, the amount that the president and the DNC have received is lower than the numbers posted by former Presidents Barack Obama and Trump at a similar point in their reelection campaigns. Just four years ago, Trump and the Republican National Committee raised $105 in the second quarter of 2019, and Obama and the DNC were able to raise $86 million.
Small-Donors Not Donating
So far the smaller donors, which helped Biden defeat Trump in 2020, and more importantly helped the Democrats maintain a majority in the Senate during the 2022 midterm elections have not opened their wallets to aid the DNC or Biden again.
According to the Federal Election Commission, the Biden Victory Fund – the joint fund-raising group – raised just $10.2 million from small donors, those who gave $200 or less, over the three-month fund-raising period that ended on June 30. As The New York Times added, that figure is less than half of the $21 million that Obama’s campaign raised during the same period of his 2012 re-election effort.
Moreover, it was also four years ago that 35 percent of the money raised by Trump’s two joint committees that his campaign formed with the national committee – Trump Victory and Trump Make America Great Again Committee – came from those small donors.
Not Fired Up?
A number of factors are at play that explain why small donors have yet to support Biden.
The paper of record stated, “At the moment, Democrats aren’t quite as fired up as they were in 2018 and 2020 when Donald J. Trump’s presidency opened floodgates of liberal money, or ahead of the 2022 midterms, when the Capitol riot, the rise of the election-denial movement and the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade all motivated donors.”
One factor is that already gave, and are not ready – at least yet – to give more.
However, the bigger fact is that middle-class Americans certainly aren’t fired up about Biden’s performance as president. A recent Economist You/Gov poll shows 44 percent of people making $100,000 or more approving of Joe Biden’s performance in office; while just 37 percent of those making less than $50,000 and 39 percent. of those earning between $50k and $100k, give the president high marks.
“Joe Biden claims Bidenomics is bringing back jobs, and especially manufacturing jobs. He brags that his policies have been a boon to the middle class,” conservative commentator and business analyst Liz Peek wrote in an op-ed for Fox News. “Biden’s problem? The middle class knows better.”
It’s the Economy – Voters Aren’t Stupid
It is easy to suggest that GOP donors are waiting to see if Trump can go the distance instead of going to jail, while there are likely plenty who are waiting to see if DeSantis will flame out or surge ahead.
As for Joe Biden, the middle class isn’t donating yet, but according to analysis from Middle Seat – a digital fund-raising firm with a number of Democratic clients – all small-donor contributions have been down this year.
Americans may not be fired up about Biden, but they’re no more enthralled by Trump or DeSantis.
“If I were on the Biden team right now, I’d be really happy with the numbers,” Kenneth Pennington, a partner at Middle Seat told The New York Times. “It’s a terrible fund-raising environment, and he’s not launching a new campaign.”
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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