President Joe Biden is set to visit Miami on January 30 for a fundraising event hosted at the residence of Chris Korge, the national finance chair of the Biden Victory Fund, with ticket prices ranging from $3,300 to $250,000 for a co-chair ticket. This marks Biden’s sixth visit to Florida as president, sparking speculation about the campaign’s intentions to compete in the state.
While the trip aims to bolster campaign funds, it has also triggered discussions about Biden’s strategy in Florida, a state that has recently leaned towards the right. Biden lost Florida to Trump by over three percentage points in the 2020 election, and his campaign acknowledges the challenges of winning the state in 2024. Instead, they focus on Rust Belt states and Sun Belt states like Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada as potential paths to victory.
The Miami fundraising event comes on the heels of a successful fourth quarter fundraising stretch for the Biden campaign, which, along with the Democratic National Committee, brought in over $97 million. Despite being relatively frugal, the campaign reported having $117 million in cash on hand. Former President Donald Trump’s fundraising numbers for the same period are yet to be announced, but Biden’s figures fall behind Trump’s haul at the end of his third year in office, when he and the Republican National Committee collected over $154 million.
Chris Korge, in an email invitation to donors, expressed hope that the Miami reception would be the largest fundraiser for a presidential candidate ever hosted in Florida, noting the “amazing” excitement surrounding the event.
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