EXCLUSIVE: After weeks of withholding money in the aftermath of Joe Biden’s June 27 debate debacle, top Hollywood donors are already breaking out their checkbooks on the news Sunday that Biden has dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I’m more excited and motivated than I’ve been in months, and everyone I talk to tells me the same,” a longtime contributor told Deadline today following Biden’s exit announcement earlier in the day. “It looks like it is going to be Harris, and that’s great — everybody knows her, likes her,” the donor said of the VP, who has a home on the west side of Los Angeles with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
In her bid for the nomination, Harris today picked up support from figures such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, two Democrats who now are potential VP picks. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer praised Biden today after his announcement, but did not offer backing for Harris. However, the popular battleground-state governor has said in past weeks that she would not pursue the Dems’ nomination if POTUS took himself out of the race.
Former president Bill Clinton and 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton, as well California’s Gavin Newsom, and Transportation Secretary (and 2020 candidate) Pete Buttigieg were also among leading Democrats coming out for Harris. The VP and Sec. Buttigieg were together on Saturday night at a Biden-Harris fundraiser in Provincetown, MA. Co-hosted by CAA partner Joe Machota and his husband Michael Russell along with Bryan Rafanelli and Tristan Schukraft, the VPTOWN event raised $2 million .
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) also lined up behind Harris on Sunday, “Kamala Harris will be the next President of the United States. I pledge my full support to ensure her victory in November,” the influential NY congresswoman wrote.
That said, even as prominent Democratic figures were rallying around Harris, some donors are warning to take a breather before anointing Harris as the nominee.
“We need to take a breath, make sure we have the right candidate, not the obvious one,” said one deep-pocketed donor, who argues that there is benefit to having competition and even an open convention in Chicago next month at the Democratic National Convention.
Biden is “doing exactly to the party what Obama stupidly did in 2016, forcing on us a weak and unpopular candidate,” an industry insider says, pointing at then-President Joe Obama keeping Biden out of the race eight years ago in favor of Hillary Clinton, who went on to lose the race. “This is what Republicans do, disregard a democratic process where people make the choice.”
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As it stands, Biden’s 3,896 pledged delegates are not beholden to Harris even with the president’s endorsement.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has taken a lead role in the campaign as Biden-Harris campaign co-chair, has yet to comment on the president’s decision and his endorsement of Harris. But a number of Hollywood supporters tell us that they intend to swell the campaign coffers ASAP.
“It’s a whole new ballgame, but we are in it to win it,” an agency executive and Democratic supporter said of the massive shift Sunday. “My phone lit up right away, so many people telling me they were going to double down with their donations,” another top supporter says.
James Costos, the former HBO executive and U.S. ambassador to Spain, remained with Biden even as other donors were calling on the president to exit the race in recent weeks. Costos was to co-host a fundraiser headlined by Biden in Laguna Beach next Saturday.
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He said in a statement that with Biden’s endorsement of Harris, “they have reset the path to November.”
“I’m honored to have stood with them on this journey thus far, and I’m thankful for everyone who rallied to support them when we called in 2020 and throughout this election cycle,” Costos said. “The mission remains the same: winning the White House. From all the calls I’ve had today with supporters and donors, we are all ready to hit the ground running next week with renewed energy and commitment.”
Mathew Littman, a former Biden speechwriter who leads a group of creative professionals engaged in Democratic politics, called The Working Group, said that Harris could prove to motivate the entertainment industry, including those who had been on the sidelines.
“The entertainment industry will definitely get behind Kamala in the way they did not for Joe Biden,” Littman said, noting that she has stronger connections to the industry than the president did. That includes Harris’ background as California Attorney General and U.S. Senator, and the experience of her husband, Emhoff, a former entertainment attorney.
“I think people are going to be very excited to help Kamala,” he said.
Littman, however, was skeptical of the idea of an open convention, noting that it was so “late in the game” and that many Democratic pols would choose not to mount a bid against the vice president. He said that his group “will do whatever we are asked to do” in the fall election.
In fact, as party insiders tell us of a “flood” of donations coming in, both Biden and Harris have been working the phones Sunday talking to donors, members of Congress and governors.
The vice president made it clear today that she intends to “earn and win this nomination,” and to that, has been shoring up support across the board as a sign of political strength if the likes of retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) stands against her. Set to inherit the $250 million war chest the reelection campaign has amassed, Harris saw a formal filing with the Federal Elections Commission claiming the “committee name is different than previously reported,” and saying it should be known as “Harris for President.
It looks like the cash is coming in fast since Biden’s move early Sunday.
To that, the nonprofit fundraising platform ActBlue dropped news this evening that should be a distinct warning for the 78-year-old Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH):
Recovering from Covid as calls for him to not seek reelection continued to grow among deep-pocketed donors and leading lawmakers, Biden suddenly said earlier today that he was out of the race. “While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden said as polls almost universally had him behind Donald Trump.
On the Hollywood front, Damon Lindelof was the first top Democratic donor to publicly call for his fellow 1%ers to stop writing checks to the Biden-Harris campaign and down ballot races after the president’s stumbling and sometimes vacant face-to-face CNN match-up with Donald Trump. Today, the multiple Emmy winner publicly praised Biden’s decision and declared ““the DEMBARGO is lifted.” Lindelof also said he “will fully support whoever can catalyze passion and engagement across our country… our ENTIRE country, no caveats.”
Rob Reiner, who along with the likes of fellow big donors Abigail Disney and George Clooney begged Biden to step aside, took to social media today also to praise Biden. Reiner recently hosted Harris at his home for a fundraiser for the Biden-Harris campaign.
Donna Bojarsky, a Hollywood political consultant, said, “I think there is going to be a lot of excitement about Harris now. I think people have flipped their opinions, and see the possibilities of what we have with her. Now I believe people are going to open their pocketbooks, and say that it is time to support her.”
