By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason
JOINT BASE CAPE COD, Massachusetts/REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will attend a fundraiser in Massachusetts on Saturday as President Joe Biden faces continued pressure from fellow Democrats and major donors to end his struggling campaign.
Biden and his top aides vowed Friday to continue the campaign, even as major donors signaled they were unwilling to open their checkbooks unless the 81-year-old president stepped down.
The crisis of confidence in Biden’s ability to win the Nov. 5 election has put a spotlight squarely on Harris, who is widely seen as the most likely replacement if he steps down.
Her fundraising events, including one Saturday in Provincetown, Massachusetts, are drawing increased interest from donors who want to signal their willingness to rally around her potential White House bid, according to three Democratic fundraisers.
Celebrity wedding planner Brian Ravanelli is hosting the fundraiser, which is expected to raise $2 million and draw about 800 people, according to a source familiar with the planning.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is expected to speak at the event, with celebrities and singers such as Jennifer Coolidge, Billy Porter and Derryn Criss among the guests, according to the source.
Thirty-five Democratic lawmakers, representing more than 10% of the party’s members in Congress, have publicly called on Biden, who is self-isolating at his home in Delaware because of COVID-19, to withdraw after a disastrous debate last month against former Republican President Donald Trump that raised questions about the current president’s ability to win an election or serve another four years.
Biden’s doctor said Saturday that the president continues to experience mild symptoms of COVID-19, such as coughing and hoarseness, but his vital signs are normal and he continues to perform his duties.
NBC News reported on Saturday, citing two sources familiar with the matter, that former Democratic President Bill Clinton and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton privately supported Biden’s decision to stay in the race and were actively encouraging donors to stay with him.
Separately, U.S. Rep. Mark Takano of California on Saturday became the latest Democratic member of Congress to call on Biden to step down as presidential candidate.
More fundraising events are scheduled.
The Biden campaign had hoped to raise about $50 million in large donations in July for the Biden Victory Fund, but was on track to raise less than half that number as of Friday, according to two sources familiar with the fundraising efforts.
The campaign called reports of a drop in July fundraising an exaggeration, saying it expected large donations to drop due to the holidays. It said the campaign still has 10 fundraisers on the schedule this month.
Harris assured major Democratic donors on Friday that the party would win the presidential election as more lawmakers called on Biden to step down.
“We are going to win this election,” she said in a phone call arranged at short notice to calm donors, according to a person who attended the call. “We know which candidate in this election puts the American people first: our president, Joe Biden.”
One person said Harris attended the call “at the direct request of the president’s senior advisors,” which was confirmed by another person familiar with the matter.