Biden campaign touts strongest single-month grassroots fundraising haul in February as it targets anti-Trump voters

Washington CNN —

President Joe Biden raised at least $42 million for his reelection campaign and the Democratic Party in February, campaign officials told CNN, a total fueled by the strongest month of grassroots donations during this election cycle – which campaign officials say demonstrates an under-appreciated level of enthusiasm for the president.

Biden campaign officials told CNN that last month’s grassroots fundraising included nearly $2 million in grassroots donations on the final day of the month, February 29. That marked the campaign’s second strongest grassroots fundraising day of the cycle so far, following the official launch of the Biden reelection operation on April 25. CNN was first to report on the figures.

The president and his team have been fighting off concerns about a lack of enthusiasm around his reelection, with recent polls showing voters’ worries about his age and key issues like the economy.

Deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty told CNN that they believe the strength of their grassroots fundraising is directly correlated to underlying enthusiasm for the Biden candidacy.

“It shows that we have a lot of different ways to raise money and it shows the effectiveness of the grassroots fundraising operation that we’ve built,” Flaherty said. “There’s just an enthusiastic Joe Biden donor that exists and nobody talks about.”

On February 29, the campaign had solicited donations tied to the end of the month and promoted an upcoming campaign event featuring Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Flaherty and director of grassroots fundraising Jess Porter told CNN in an interview. But the day had not been defined by an outsized news story or an unusual fundraising push by the