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WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden heads to California connected Tuesday looking to soak up much currency for his reelection bid during a three-day plaything done the state.
Going into the trip, Biden's run and the Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that they had collected $42 cardinal successful contributions during January from 422,000 donors. Biden ended January with $130 cardinal successful currency connected hand. Campaign officials said that is the highest full amassed by immoderate Democratic campaigner astatine this constituent successful the cycle.
Biden run manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez called the haul "an indisputable amusement of spot to commencement the predetermination year."
"While Team Biden-Harris continues to physique connected its fundraising machine, Republicans are divided - either spending wealth warring Donald Trump, oregon spending wealth successful enactment of Donald Trump's utmost and losing agenda," she said.
The figures suggest Biden is cementing an aboriginal currency vantage implicit Trump, his apt wide predetermination opponent. But the numbers inactive lag what Trump had amassed during a akin play successful 2020, erstwhile his run routinely smashed fundraising records.
Raising wealth is lone portion of the equation. How good that currency is spent is besides a large origin - arsenic Trump good knows. His 2020 run efficaciously lit his monolithic currency surpluses connected occurrence done a bid of questionable spending decisions.
This year, Trump retains his awesome quality to hoover up run cash, peculiarly from grassroots donors who typically spot successful tiny amounts online. Trump, who hasn't released his January fundraising numbers yet, besides faces a caller menace to his campaign's finances: the staggering ineligible bills helium racked up portion defending himself successful 4 abstracted transgression cases.
In bid to support an borderline successful what's wide expected to beryllium an costly rematch with Trump, Biden's run volition request to accelerate his fundraising.
This week's travel to Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay country volition people Biden's 3rd sojourn to California successful conscionable implicit 2 months for governmental events. He's trying to marque up for mislaid clip aft mostly avoiding the Democratic donor stronghold during past year's strikes by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA.
Biden heads archetypal to Los Angeles, wherever helium volition instrumentality portion successful a fundraiser. He'll besides marque run stops successful San Francisco and Los Altos Hills this week and present a argumentation code adjacent Los Angeles connected Wednesday.
Biden made a speedy sojourn to Los Angeles earlier this period for a gathering with supporters successful the city's upscale Bel Air neighborhood. He and archetypal woman Jill Biden besides spent a play successful December successful the Los Angeles country for run events.
The archetypal woman is traveling Tuesday to Guilford, Connecticut, to clasp a run fundraiser connected behalf of her husband.
While the Bidens volition beryllium pursuing deep-pocketed donors this week, the run points to the fig of smaller donations it has raised arsenic an encouraging motion for the president.
The run says 97% of the 3 cardinal donations it has received frankincense acold were nether $200 each. Biden has besides received pledges from 158,000 "sustaining donors" who person committed to donating connected a monthly basis. That's much than treble the magnitude Biden had astatine this constituent successful the 2020 cycle, erstwhile his cash-strapped run limped retired of Iowa pursuing a 4th spot decorativeness successful the state's February caucuses.
The caller totals see donations to Biden's governmental cognition and to a web of associated fundraising arrangements with the nationalist and authorities Democratic parties. Biden's 2020 run raised implicit $1 billion, and could request adjacent much successful a apt Trump rematch.
"This haul volition spell straight to reaching the voters who volition determine this election," said Biden run elder communications advisor TJ Ducklo.
Biden successful caller days has seized connected comments by Trump that telephone into question the U.S. committedness to support NATO allies from onslaught arsenic "dangerous" and "un-American." Trump earlier this period said helium erstwhile warned that helium would let Russia to bash immoderate it wants to NATO subordinate nations that are "delinquent" successful devoting 2% of their gross home merchandise to defense.
The Biden run launched integer ads past week successful 3 battleground states - Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania - criticizing Trump for his menace to NATO countries. Biden has besides railed against House Republicans for blocking a $95 cardinal overseas assistance measure that includes $60 cardinal successful backing for Ukraine's warfare with Russia.
"The thought that we're going to locomotion distant from Ukraine, the thought that we're going to fto NATO statesman to divided is wholly against the interests of the United States of America and it is against our connection we've fixed ... each the mode backmost to Eisenhower," Biden told reporters Sunday.
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AP writer Brian Slodysko contributed to this report.
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