2020 Democrats Face a Vexing Issue: Big Money From the Rich

But as three dozen Democrats ponder presidential runs in 2020 and begin to design their campaign infrastructures, some leading names beyond Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., are expected to forgo or disavow these fundraising committees that allow allies to haul unlimited sums from wealthy backers. The hope of these potential candidates is that grassroots donors and progressive activists would reward them more handsomely in the primary for rejecting such funds.

If she runs, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is likely to reject the assistance of a super PAC, according to two people familiar with her thinking. And former Vice President Joe Biden revealed in his 2017 book that he would have gone without one if he had run in 2016.

The question is a politically vexing one. The financial firepower would be alluring to those with a ready network of financiers, such as Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who is seen as likely to have a super PAC, according to donors, strategists and people close to him. Some allies are already discussing possible super PACs for Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. But aides to both say they are not seeking these fundraising vehicles.

The choice will represent one of the earliest and potentially more consequential crossroads of the nascent primary, and has been the subject of fierce debate within the inner circles of some candidates. Is it worth giving up possible seven-figure checks for the chance to campaign more effectively as the candidate of the little guy? Or, put another way, can a Democrat risk embracing millionaires and billionaires in an era when small donors and the party’s seemingly ascendant left wing may pummel PAC-backed candidates as allies of the rich?

“Every Democrat should approach the idea of a super PAC in the primary with caution,” said Robby Mook, who served as the 2016 campaign manager for Hillary Clinton. “They are a liability as much as a strength.”

Federal law currently caps contributions for presidential primary campaigns at $2,700.

But opposition to big money has become a galvanizing force in Democratic politics. Sanders inveighed against the influence of big money and raised more than $230 million in 2016.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.