US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to reporters outside Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Bar during a bus campaign tour stop in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, on August 18, 2024.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
CHICAGO — Major Harris campaign donors are slated to attend various VIP events and enjoy exclusive perks at the Democratic National Convention this week. They include private brunches, evening cocktail parties and a tour of Wrigley Field, according to a schedule obtained by CNBC.
The ritzy events, sprinkled in between the convention’s headliner speeches, are available for top donors to the Harris Victory Fund, a joint Democratic fundraising committee that can accept donations well above traditional campaign limits, at around $900,000 per donor.
The VIP week kicks off with a welcome reception Monday evening at Morgan’s on Fulton, a massive venue to which donors will be shuttled from hotels like The Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons.
Donor parties are a time honored part of every presidential nominating convention — a crucial opportunity for the campaign to get face time and foster goodwill with individuals who give millions of dollars to help fund it.
But this week’s Democratic VIP donor events in the Windy City seem even more festive than in years past.
U.S. President Joe Biden appears onstage during a walkthrough at the at the United Center, ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 19, 2024.
Craig Hudson | Reuters
Part of the reason for this is pent up energy. The last time either party held a nominating convention in person was in 2016, so donors and the campaign fundraising pros who host them are both eager to mingle this week. But it’s more than that.
President Joe Biden‘s difficult decision to drop out of the race in July, and the domino effect it began that led to Chicago, and to Democrats celebrating a ticket this week of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is a kind of political fairytale for high-dollar donors.
On Tuesday morning, they will mingle at the first of several brunches this week. Held at the beautiful Chicago History Museum, the event is being billed as a “Path to Victory Brunch and Briefing.”
Wednesday will feature an exclusive tour of Wrigley Field, the storied home of the Chicago Cubs Major League baseball team. There, donors can enjoy “batting practice, tours, concessions and more” from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. C.T., according to the schedule.
Ahead of Harris’ nomination acceptance speech on Thursday night, donors will be treated to a reception at The Exchange, a four-star historic restaurant.
This luxury treatment is just one part of a broader donor cultivation strategy, however, one that has helped Harris haul in record-setting donations, both big and small.
Within weeks of Biden endorsing her last month, Harris’s fundraising juggernaut had already outpaced her opponent, Republican former President Donald Trump.
The Harris political operation raked in $310 million in July, much of it after Biden dropped out on the 21st of the month. This helped them start August with $377 million in cash on hand.
The Trump team, meanwhile, raised just $138.7 million in July, less than half of what Harris pulled in. After having outpaced Biden’s fundraising in June, the Trump team had some cash reserves to help pad the bottom line.
Still, it began this month with just $327 million, or $50 million less than Harris did.