NFL Falcons Owner, Bergdorf’s Penick to Raise Biden Cash
(Bloomberg) -- Prominent business leaders, including Darcy Penick of Bergdorf Goodman Inc., former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, are among those hosting political fundraisers for President Joe Biden as the campaign taps Democratic-donor rich Silicon Valley and Chicago for cash.
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Tickets to the fundraisers, slated for May and June, go for as much as $250,000 for some events, according to invitations obtained by Bloomberg News.
Biden has intensified his fundraising in recent weeks, seeking to build up his already formidable money advantage over presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Puck earlier reported that Mayer and Khosla were fundraising for Biden.
The president plans to visit Chicago on Wednesday following an official visit to Wisconsin, and on Friday, he’ll hold three high-dollar fundraisers in one day — two in Northern California and a third in Seattle. Later in the month, he’ll add an Atlanta fundraiser to his planned trip to the city to deliver the commencement address at Morehouse College.
An April Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll shows Trump leading Biden in several swing states that will be critical to the outcome of their November rematch, but the president has been outraising his rival in the money race.
Biden and the Democratic Party raised more than $90 million in March. They ended the month with $192 million cash on hand, roughly $100 million more than Trump and the Republican National Committee’s $93.1 million. Trump and the RNC said they raised $76 million in April, while Biden’s campaign has yet to report its tally.
The Biden campaign declined to comment. A representative for Khosla confirmed his involvement in the fundraiser. Penick is hosting the fundraiser in her personal capacity and the event is not associated with Bergdorf Goodman, according to a person familiar with the matter. Representatives for Mayer and Blank did not immediately return requests for comment.
Blank is a prominent Democratic donor, having given $400,000 to the Biden Victory Fund and the maximum $6,600 to Biden for President in 2023, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Khosla donated to Democrats’ senatorial and House campaign committees in 2023 and last year also gave more than $100,000 to Biden’s reelection efforts.
Biden has sought to ramp up his campaign appearances as Trump has been sidelined by a Manhattan trial over charges involving hush-money payments to an adult film star. The former president’s legal woes, including multiple civil and criminal cases, have been a drag on his campaign, restricting his campaigning and draining his finances.
Trump is trying to step up his own fundraising with events coming up in New York, Kentucky and Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Updates to add Puck in the third paragraph)
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