In his bid for reelection, President Joe Biden is adopting a unique and strategic approach, relying heavily on the combined strength of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and state Democratic parties. With the upcoming 2024 contest expected to be highly competitive, Biden’s campaign aims to raise and deploy approximately $2 billion. However, unlike past campaigns, this substantial fundraising endeavour will be done in coordination with the national and state Democratic parties, establishing a well-coordinated campaign effort across the entire country.
The primary objective is to bolster crucial elements such as field operations, volunteer networks, and data organisations, ensuring they work harmoniously to support both Biden and other Democratic candidates running for various offices.
Biden rewriting playbook for reelection campaigns
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, expressed enthusiasm about this innovative strategy, emphasising that the President is rewriting the playbook for reelection campaigns. The deep partnership with the DNC enables them to demonstrate a successful campaign based on various metrics. This strategic shift contrasts with how the previous Democratic president, Barack Obama, approached his campaigns.
Obama chose to bypass the traditional fundraising apparatus of the DNC and instead raised money through his own groups, heavily relying on his personal popularity and charisma. However, this approach left the DNC financially depleted and burdened with debt.
In contrast, the “one-team, one-fight mentality” adopted by the Democrats allows them to raise funds at a faster pace than Biden’s campaign could achieve on its own. Simultaneously, the centralised fundraising approach keeps staffing and logistical expenses lower for the reelection effort, as state and national parties share the financial burden. This unity allows the Democrats to remain politically and financially strong, positioning them advantageously compared to the Republican presidential candidates, who may be entangled in a contentious primary.
Effective model of Democrats
Drawing inspiration from their successes during last year’s midterm races, where the DNC invested $95 million in campaigns nationwide, Democrats are confident in their model’s effectiveness. The DNC’s involvement contributed significantly to defying historical precedents, enabling the party to maintain control of the Senate and narrowly lose the House. The substantial spending in the midterms was more than double the committee’s previous record set during the 2010 race.
Building on their momentum, Biden’s 2020 campaign provided the national party with valuable supporter and fundraising data after Inauguration Day in 2021. Since then, the DNC has expanded its volunteer list to an impressive 2,50,000 individuals across all 50 states. With an eye on reaching voters effectively, especially young and minority populations on social media, the committee is now developing and testing new precision online targeting tools.
Additionally, the DNC has implemented systems that allow volunteers to share localised content, bolstering phone banking and texting initiatives to reach voters more effectively. They have also introduced “relational organising”, encouraging existing volunteers to organise people within their own networks.
(With inputs from Associated Press)