Biden adopts signature tactics from former primary rivals as he prepares for general election against Trump
Joe Biden is adopting some of his former Democratic presidential primary rivals' best-known tactics as he seeks to bridge the party's gaps headed into his general election match-up against President Donald Trump.
He consulted with Pete Buttigieg
as his campaign turned the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor's "Rules
of the Road" -- a set of values for his campaign and its supporters --
into Biden's own new "Campaign Code."
Last week he dialed supporters with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren,
for whom the tactic -- and the videos it helped produce on social media
-- was a keystone as she shunned traditional high-dollar fundraisers.
And
he and Buttigieg hosted a virtual "grassroots" fundraiser, a
small-dollar event modeled after the events Buttigieg often held, on
Friday.
The
efforts offer Biden a chance to tap into the popularity and excitement
surrounding his former rivals. Part of the aim, a Biden adviser said, is
to appeal to the cultural components of past campaigns that are
important to those supporters while also maintaining an authentic
feeling for Biden and his campaign.
It
all comes as Biden's campaign morphs from a largely offline primary
effort, where support from older voters, especially African Americans,
catapulted him to the Democratic nomination, into one that is attempting
to unite the party and gear up for what the coronavirus pandemic could force to be a general election battle that's fought over the internet and airwaves.
"Our
campaign continues to grow stronger because we are adopting some of the
smartest, most effective tactics used during the primary, and we're
grateful to our friends on other campaigns who have helped us do that,"
said TJ Ducklo, national press secretary for the Biden campaign. "It's
because of this kind of cooperation and unity that we will beat Donald
Trump this November."
The
calls with Warren and the code borrowed from Buttigieg both align with
the image of Biden that his campaign has sought to portray: an
empathetic figure who is motivated by the personal connections he makes
and stories he hears on the campaign trail.
"These
tactics work because they're authentic to Joe Biden," said Lis Smith,
the Buttigieg strategist who said she and other former staffers have
been in contact with Biden's campaign.
"It
doesn't come across as pandering. He's doing it in a way that is
authentic to him and that is authentic to his campaign, and that's why I
think it's so powerful," she said.
Adopting
some of his former rivals' tactics is part of Biden's broader effort to
bring Democrats together after a bruising primary campaign. Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, his strongest rival in the party's primary, have assembled a series of working groups on policy issues.
Biden's
team has been deliberate in welcoming supporters of past opponents.
This includes helping produce graphics for members of Buttigieg's "Team
Pete" and Kamala Harris'
"KHive" now on board with the former vice president's campaign -- a
move that allows those people to maintain their identities as supporters
of Biden's former rivals while lining up behind the party's choice to
take on Trump.
As a gesture of thanks to Buttigieg's supporters on Super Tuesday, the Biden campaign's press shop learned a dance
to the song "High Hopes" by Panic! at the Disco, which had become a
light-hearted joke among Buttigieg's followers. And Biden himself sought
to extend olive branches to Sanders' supporters as the primary wound
down, frequently praising the Vermont senator and courting his
supporters in speeches.
Buttigieg's
"Rules of the Road" were the first prominent example of Biden -- who
has had to grow his staff for the general election while at home in
Delaware, with aides working from their homes, as well -- adopting a
former rival's tactics.
Biden and
Buttigieg have spoken several times in recent months, and Biden's
campaign asked for Buttigieg's feedback and sign-off before making
public its "Campaign Code."
"It
was really smart to have Pete that involved in this process, because it
signals to Pete's supporters that the Biden campaign wasn't just paying
Pete's campaign and Pete's supporters lip service," Smith said.
This
week Buttigieg emailed his campaign's list to invite them to his first
grassroots fundraiser with Biden. It's the sort of event that could
bring new online donors into Biden's campaign -- and allow the campaign
to hit those donors again and again for contributions.
"Grassroots
fundraisers are really important to me. They are based on the idea that
the experience of a political fundraiser, often regarded as high-dollar
closed-door events in the past, should be equally available to folks
chipping in $5, $25 at a time," he said.
Biden's embrace of his rival's campaigns extends to policy and staffing as well. Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon,
who took over leading the team in March, initially ran former Texas
Rep. Beto O'Rourke's presidential bid. And several other O'Rourke
staffers now fill prominent roles in Biden's campaign.
This
week, Biden's campaign announced the hiring of Julie Chavez Rodriguez,
the former co-national political director for the Harris campaign, as a
senior adviser focusing on Latino outreach and state operations. The
campaign recently beefed up its digital team by adding senior advisers
from the campaigns of Harris, O'Rourke and Warren.
Biden's
advisers maintain frequent contact with the teams of former opponents.
Rob Flaherty, Biden's digital director who is an alum of O'Rourke's
campaign, has coordinated digital and social media efforts, and a trio
of top advisers -- Cristóbal Alex, Stef Feldman and Symone Sanders --
work with outside groups and former rivals' teams on policy issues.
Biden has already made policy overtures to past campaigns, including embracing Warren's bankruptcy plan
and teaming up with the Massachusetts senator to highlight possible
corruption in the Trump administration's coronavirus relief efforts.
He's credited Sanders and his supporters for "laying the groundwork" on
two of Biden's recent policy commitments -- lowering the Medicare
eligibility age from 65 to 60 and forgiving student loan debt for
low-income and middle-class borrowers who attended public colleges and
universities, historically black colleges and universities, and other
institutions geared toward students of color.
The Biden and Sanders' teams have set up unity task forces aiming to work together on six key policy areas. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
an ardent Sanders supporter, is co-chairing the group focusing on
climate change along with Biden backer former Secretary of State John
Kerry.
As Democrats turn their
attention to the general election, the Biden campaign is working to
maximize the use of former rivals in virtual fundraising and events. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Buttigieg, Harris and Klobuchar have all participated in recent fundraisers for the former vice president.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand,
Harris, Klobuchar and O'Rourke, have headlined virtual campaign events
and calls for the campaign. Klobuchar, Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee
and Andrew Yang have appeared on Biden's podcast "Here's the Deal."
Biden
made his own calls to grassroots donors occasionally during the
primary, but he's aimed to make those personalized calls more frequently
since he became the presumptive Democratic nominee. Like Warren once
did, his team dangles the possibility of a call from Biden in many of
its fundraising pitches.
Biden and Warren recently teamed up to call those grassroots donors together.
"I
wanted to call to say thank you for contributing to Vice President
Biden's campaign. You're one of the people we're counting on," Warren
said in a video of the calls. "Today I've got a special guest ... take
it away Joe."
"Carroll, this is Joe
Biden," the former vice president said. "I was kidding with the senator
a moment ago. I said, you know I used to call my contributors, but I
never had as many until she endorsed me," said Biden. "I'm counting on
her a great deal not just for her endorsement, but for her ideas and her
leadership."
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