Former Vice President Joe Biden will be attending a big-money fundraiser next week in Vermont’s wealthiest town, just over the Connecticut River from New Hampshire, where voters will be casting ballots in less than four months time.
On Nov. 9, Biden will be stopping in Norwich, Vermont, for an event hosted by Jane and Bill Stetson, longtime contributors and fundraisers for Democratic candidates. The price of attendance begins at $500. People are also encouraged to pay $2,800 — the legal maximum campaign contribution — and pool or “bundle” $5,000 donations for Biden.
The former vice president’s first stop in Vermont during this election cycle was announced on Oct. 18, but the campaign has not released details about Biden’s stop in the Green Mountain State. The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Jane Stetson sent out invitations Friday for the private fundraiser.
Stetson has known Biden for years, dating back to her work as national finance chair for the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2013, when Biden was vice president. The Stetsons are also active in local and national nonprofit groups working on issues relating to community health, education and the environment.
In an interview, Jane Stetson said it was time to put a “stake in the ground” for the candidate she believes has the best chance of beating President Donald Trump.
“Joe Biden is a pragmatic choice,” Stetson said. “He will stabilize us. I am a progressive person, but I don’t feel like this is the time for a whole new political system.”
“I’m not close minded to other Democratic candidates,” she added. “My main concern is getting the current occupant of the White House out.”
The Biden campaign has found itself strapped for cash in recent weeks even as the former vice president continues to lead the Democratic pack.
In a recent national CNN poll, Biden was at 34%, his strongest showing in CNN polling since he announced his candidacy for president in April. Sens. Bernie Sanders, 16%, and Elizabeth Warren, 19%, are well behind, as they continue to fight for second place.
Yet Biden’s strong performance in the polls is not translating to fundraising success on the scale of Sanders, Warren, and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who have consistently raised more than Biden throughout the 2020 election cycle from small contributors.
At the end of the third quarter, Biden raised $15.7 million, but only had $9 million cash on hand.
During that same stretch, Sanders brought in $25 million in contributions and currently has $33.7 million in cash on hand. Warren is just off the Vermont senator’s pace, as she brought in $24.7 million this past quarter, while maintaining $25.7 million in available funds.
Unlike Biden, both New England senators have eschewed private fundraising events and the use of political action committees (PACs), choosing instead to focus on grassroots outreach to bring in small-dollar donations.
In a seeming admittance of his fundraising shortcomings, Biden — who earlier this year had pledged not to form a super PAC — reversed his position, stating he was not opposed to using the organizations that allow individuals and corporations to give and spend unlimited amounts of money on a candidate.
An analysis of how Democratic candidates are spending their time between April and August by Politico found that more than 37% of Biden’s campaign events in those five months were fundraisers. This is only behind California Sen. Kamala Harris and Buttigieg.
“The candidate needs to raise money and I make no apologies for that,” Stetson said Monday. “He’s spending the whole day in New Hampshire and then he is coming across the river because I am an old friend. Yes, it is expensive, but he needs the money.”
Before Biden attends the private fundraiser in Vermont, he will be in Concord, New Hampshire, on Friday, Nov. 8, to file his paperwork with the New Hampshire secretary of state in order to be on the New Hampshire primary ballot.
