'He just needs more of everything': Biden campaign faces retool after primary surge
Before the three weeks that miraculously brought Joe Biden to the cusp of the Democratic presidential nomination, his campaign was limping along — and Biden knows it.
“The press kept saying Biden has no money, and they were right,” the former vice president said during Sunday’s Democratic debate with Bernie Sanders. “Biden had no money.”
And campaign finance disclosures filed late Friday highlight how Biden has nearly captured the Democratic nomination on momentum and message instead of organizational prowess — and the work his operation has to do to build up for a grueling general election campaign against President Donald Trump.
Biden, who brought in $18.1 million in February, was outraised by four other Democratic presidential contenders that month: Bernie Sanders ($47.7 million), Elizabeth Warren ($29.5 million), Amy Klobuchar ($18.7 million) and Pete Buttigieg ($18.6 million).
While Biden’s fundraising took off in March as he started stacking up primary wins, his campaign operation lagged well behind others’. Sanders had 1,215 people on the payroll in February, according to his campaign finance report, while Warren paid salaries to 1,203 staffers. Buttigieg had more than 550 people on his campaign at that point.
Meanwhile, Biden’s payroll stood at 477, as his lower fundraising totals throughout 2019 and early 2020 meant his campaign had to keep costs low. Sanders outspent Biden $46 million to $13 million in February — and still finished the month with more cash in the bank, $18.7 million to $12.1 million.
“As is typical, [Biden has] got to pull in talent from other campaigns and across the party to run a general election, and he’s got to move quickly,” said Stephanie Cutter, a Democratic strategist who served as deputy campaign manager for Barack Obama in 2012. “He just needs more of everything.”
Lying in wait is Trump’s reelection campaign, which has been preparing for the general election for years and already has more than $94 million socked away in its bank account. The Republican National Committee has also built a big financial advantage over the Democratic National Committee that even a big windfall from billionaire Mike Bloomberg can’t erase.
The DNC ended February with $14.1 million on hand, compared to $76.8 million for the RNC.
Biden’s retooling process is already underway, with another former Obama hand, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, taking over as Biden’s campaign manager last week. But the coronavirus pandemic and the sudden onset of social distancing and work from home may impair the Biden campaign’s buildup.
“The lack of infrastructure in the states was a reflection of the limited resources available at that time, and now, that will all change,” said Tom McMahon, a former DNC executive director.
“They may be playing catch up, but in light of how campaigning will take place going forward, they aren’t necessarily at a disadvantage,” McMahon continued. “The real challenge they’re going to have to face going forward is putting together a comprehensive campaign remotely.”
Biden will have the cash to try: He revealed during last Sunday’s debate that he had raised $33 million in the first half of March, and that was before he swept the primaries on March 17 and padded his delegate lead over Sanders.
Even before the former vice president started raising such large amounts of money, Biden’s other strengths were more important than the power of an organization during the primary, said Matt Paul, a former aide both to Hillary Clinton and to Tom Vilsack, former Agriculture secretary and onetime governor of Iowa.
“But it’s a different game now,” Paul continued, “and they know that. This break in the campaign is bizarre, but it’s an opportunity to think very carefully and plan very carefully about how to marshal their resources.”
