A group of top Democratic donors and strategists is pooling resources into a new political action committee to help fund an alternative candidate to President Joe Biden should he withdraw from the presidential race, according to a new report from the New York Times.
The fund, coined the Next Generation PAC, is aiming to raise as much as $100 million to help support a candidate who replaces Biden at the top of the ticket, according to the outlet. If Biden doesn’t drop out of the race, the money would then be used to fund down-ballot candidates.
The Next Generation PAC is being spearheaded by Mike Novogratz, a cryptocurrency investor who previously backed Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) in the Democratic primary, the outlet reported. The group has not yet filed federal paperwork, but PAC officials have reportedly told donors it hopes to raise between $50 million and $100 million.
People connected to the Biden campaign have heard of the possible stealth project and have attempted to convince those involved not to join, according to the outlet.
If the PAC manages to raise large sums, it could benefit Vice President Kamala Harris if she replaces Biden as the nominee, especially as some major donors have remained skeptical about her at the top of the ticket.
The Next Generation PAC comes as some donors begin to question Biden’s strength to campaign against former President Donald Trump let alone the ability to carry out another four years in office. Those concerns were exacerbated after last week’s debate, during which Biden had multiple verbal slip-ups and repeatedly lost his train of thought.
His performance has prompted some major donors to consider pouring their resources into down-ballot races rather than the White House, according to reports. Others have even gone so far as to threaten to withhold funds from the Democratic Party altogether unless Biden steps down.
Gideon Stein, a donor with deep connections to the Democratic Party, said his family would withhold roughly $3.5 million in planned donations to nonprofit and political organizations involved in the presidential race unless Biden withdrew, according to the New York Times. Abigail Disney, the heiress of the Disney family fortune, also said Biden’s campaign and committees supporting the president “will not receive another dime from me until they bite the bullet and replace Biden at the top of the ticket,” the outlet reported.
“Biden is a good man who has served his country well, but the stakes are far too high to allow timidity to determine our course of action,” she wrote in a statement.
However, Biden has insisted he will not be dropping out, arguing his worse-than-expected performance was due to his busy travel schedule and intense preparation for the debate. The White House has also denied reports that the president is having conversations about whether to withdraw from the race.
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Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) became the first sitting House Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race on Tuesday and was quickly followed by Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Seth Moulton (D-MA). Former Rep. Tim Ryan also came out on Tuesday to call on Harris to step up as the party’s 2024 nominee, calling Biden’s debate performance “deeply troubling” and evidence that the party must move forward.
The White House has remained confident in Biden’s abilities to serve a second term, brushing off suggestions that the president should step down or withdraw from the race. In a campaign speech after the debate, Biden acknowledged that although he is no longer a “young man,” he can hold a second term.
