Biden’s battle to secure backing of anti-Trump Republicans

President Joe Biden’s allies are ramping up a charm offensive aimed at convincing prominent Republicans and donors who don’t support Donald Trump to support the Democratic president.

But the effort is proving difficult, according to people familiar with the effort.

As of Thursday, Biden had yet to secure anything. Recommendation A statement from a nationally recognized Republican official.

Meanwhile, several major Republican-leaning political donors who have supported former presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley’s campaign are holding off on whether to support Biden, at least for now.

“The winning campaign will build a coalition, and that will be the north star of this campaign every day from now until November, and the voters who will decide this race,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz told CNBC in an email Wednesday. The goal is to gain the support of the people.”

For Biden, there is one support that outweighs all other Republican support. But that’s a long way off.

Some of Mr. Biden’s donors, who also supported Ms. Haley in major challenges to Mr. Trump, tried to privately encourage her to support Biden, people familiar with the matter said.

Like others in this article, they were granted anonymity to describe private conversations.

As of Thursday, Biden and senior campaign advisers said they had not contacted Haley or other members of her team about a possible endorsement. It’s also unclear whether Haley has responded to advances from past contributors.

One Democratic Biden donor adviser who was aware of this support for Haley described the campaign to win support for Biden as a “nearly impossible task.”

For Ms. Haley, supporting Mr. Biden could mean sacrificing her future political prospects within the Republican Party, which is increasingly dominated by Mr. Trump.

A spokeswoman for Haley did not respond to an email requesting comment.

The Biden team plans to reach out to other Republican opponents of Trump in the coming months, including former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the people said.

The “Republicans for Biden” group could be finalized ahead of the Democratic National Convention in July.

Haley, Cheney and Christie do not support Biden, but all have publicly criticized Trump in the past.

Cheney appears closer to vocally endorsing Biden over Trump than other prominent Republicans, even though she has not formally endorsed the president.

“I’m going to do whatever it takes to defeat Donald Trump,” she said in a recent article. CNN interview. A spokeswoman for Mr. Cheney did not respond to a request for comment.

Biden’s team says big-name endorsements are likely to make the biggest difference later in the election cycle, as the president consolidates his support among the Democratic base and draws a sharp contrast to Trump. thinking.

The president has been touring key states in recent weeks to energize key Democratic voters and highlight his administration’s track record of success. At the same time, his campaign is expanding its staff and offices in battleground states.

Biden is trying to shore up his campaign coffers with cash from anti-Trump Republican donors as his campaign builds an operation that will ultimately cost more than $1 billion.

Biden outsold Trump by tens of millions of dollars in the first quarter of 2024. But the newly created Republican Community Chest Committee, which can accept donations of up to $814,600 per person, could begin to tip the scales in Mr. Trump’s favor.

Biden’s wealthy donors are already working to recruit Haley’s donors and donors. But as with any attempt to garner support, things look grim here too.

Some Haley donors cited policy disagreements with the Democratic administration as a major reason they are not yet able to commit to Biden, according to people familiar with the matter.

But others already seem more open to donating to Biden than supporting Trump.

For some of Haley’s donors, her gift left them with the impression that the former South Carolina governor had hoped not to donate to Trump, one of the people explained.

Immediately after Haley’s withdrawal Starting with the March 6 Republican primary, she sent campaign T-shirts to some of the Bundlers that read “.It is prohibited.Permanently. ”

The shirt referenced Trump’s infamous threat that anyone who gave money to Haley would be “forever banned from the MAGA camp.”

But another person familiar with the matter said the T-shirt was not intended to send any message other than “thank you” to her supporters.

george conway one time The Republican, a vocal opponent of President Trump, recently donated $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund and said he plans to attend the committee’s dinner on April 26.

The Biden Victory Fund raises money for the Biden campaign, the Democratic National Committee and dozens of state political parties.

Conway told CNBC that the party’s co-sponsors are mostly Democrats, but he plans to “try to get more apostates to join us.”

As of Thursday, it was unclear whether any other current or former Republicans planned to attend.

“There is a place in President Biden’s camp for everyone, including Republican voters who reject President Trump’s chaos, division, and violence,” said Muñoz, a Biden campaign aide.

But while some Haley Republicans have indicated they want to take a break from presidential politics for now, other parts of the Never Trump world want Biden to step up his game.

For these Republicans, Biden’s current outreach isn’t enough to re-engage disillusioned Haley voters, many of whom have already experienced major disappointments this year.

“there were [approximately] 76,000 votes for Nikki Haley last night [Wisconsin’s primary]” wrote Never Trump political consultant and former Reagan administration aide Bill Kristol in a post on social media site X.

“Biden won Wisconsin because [approximately] He added: “20,000 votes in 2020. Republican voters who oppose Trump are important. It might not be a bad idea for Team Biden to reach out to those voters a little more.” .

Kristol’s nonprofit, Defending Democracy Together, is funding a $50 million ad campaign for a group called “Republican Voters vs. Trump.” The ads feature people who once voted for Trump explaining why they decided not to vote for him again.

Mike Madrid, co-founder of the anti-Trump PAC The Lincoln Project, told CNBC that Republicans are waiting for some guidance from Biden’s team as they prepare to play a role in the 2024 election. Ta.

“So far, most of the interactions with the Biden campaign have been private, as most donors, elected officials and election officials are looking for direction,” Madrid said.

“We are waiting for our marching orders,” he said.

While some key figures in Bidenland are busy courting individual Republicans, other parts of the Biden team are devising ways to connect with disillusioned Haley supporters across the country.

The Biden campaign has recently advertisement She encouraged Haley’s supporters to support Biden over Trump. A political action committee called “Haley Voters for Biden” is also trying to persuade Haley voters to support Biden, the paper said. semaphores.

The effort to convert opposition to President Trump to support Biden comes at a critical time for the president, who may need these voters and their donations for re-election in November.

Thursday’s Real Clear Politics poll average shows Biden and Trump virtually tied in the White House race.

Whoever wins the presidency in November will likely need to make significant inroads with former Haley supporters.The polls showed Haley. main voters They tended to be more centrist, better educated, and wealthier than average.

If the Biden campaign is able to convert individual anti-Trump figures into Biden supporters, how they did it could hold important lessons for Team Biden in the future.