(UnitedHeadlines.com) – Donors of President Joe Biden have been holding meetings to discuss the threat third-party candidates could pose to Biden’s reelection campaign.
The co-founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman, held a Zoom call with about 30 other donors to discuss what a candidate for the group No Labels could mean to Biden. No Labels has been raising money to get a potential presidential candidate on the ballot in 10 states. No Labels’ “every move” is being investigated by American Bridge, which is a major Democratic super PAC specializing in opposition research.
During the meeting, Third Way co-founder Matt Bennett as well as Hoffman discussed how an independent candidate could hurt Biden even if the candidate can’t win. In an attempt to stop No Labels, Hoffman has already donated $1.5 million. However, Bennett and Hoffman asked donors to raise a total of $3-4 million.
Bennett said that an independent candidate “will make it very hard” for Biden to beat former President Donald Trump.
Hoffman and Bennett are not the only ones meeting to stop third-party candidates. Citizens to Save Our Republic was founded by Dick Gephardt, former House Democratic leader and presidential candidate, solely as a way to work against third-party bids.
While No Labels has the attention of many donors, independent candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as well as Cornel West are also a concern.
West is seen by many as the greatest threat to Biden because he could potentially tap into the discontent some black voters have with Biden’s policies. Democrat donors are not as worried about Kennedy, despite his name. Polling results released by a pro-Kennedy super PAC show he may take more votes away from Trump. Though, Democrats remain concerned about the threat of votes shifting from Trump to Kennedy instead of shifting to Biden.
John Della Volpe, who polled for the 2020 Biden campaign, stated that he believes the potential independent candidates would hurt Biden more than they would hurt Trump. He also stated he thinks “help from third parties and outside actors” is the only path to victory for Trump.
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