Democratic donors freeze $90m in donations as long as Biden is at top of the ticket

Some wealthy donors have told the largest Biden-supporting Super PAC that they’re withholding around $90m in donations as long as the embattled president remains atop the Democratic ticket, according to a report.

Two sources told The New York Times that the donations now on hold include contributions of eight-figure sums. This comes after Biden’s disastrous debate performance on June 27.

An adviser to the PAC told the outlet that they expect the donations to resume when the uncertainty about the state of the party’s ticket has passed.

A donor to Future Forward told The Times that he and his friends had been “holding off” even as they had been approached several times after the debate about donating.

Future Forward was designated as the top super PAC for the Biden campaign early in the 2024 race and has revealed that it will spend $250m on TV and digital advertising starting after the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention in August.

A poll conducted by the PAC was leaked after the debate, revealing that the group had tested the viability of other candidates, including Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. According to the poll, Biden has worse favorability ratings than the other possible candidates.

Future Forward gathered donors shortly before the debate to discuss its fund-raising as well as the race, with officials telling donors that the super PAC and its nonprofit branch were aiming to collect $700m ahead of the election and that they had raised $430m by that time, two people at the briefing told The Times.

The nonprofit has also been running ads in key swing states.

The pause in donations comes