With political fundraising season in full bloom, President Joe Biden will touch down in Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 8 for a three-day visit that will include his first Hollywood fundraisers since the end of the strikes by actors and screenwriters.
The fundraisers will feature stars such as Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg and “Scandal” showrunner Shonda Rhimes, topping a long bill of celebrities. As of Tuesday, Dec. 5, it’s wasn’t known if the president would be fronting any events where the public could catch a glimpse of him, or where he could buoy other local Democratic candidates.
The burst of fundraising comes as the holiday season sets in and as candidates make their final pushes to raise needed cash before the quarter ends on Dec. 31. After leaving the Golden State, Biden will attend a fundraiser on Monday in Philadelphia, and another on Wednesday near the White House. Biden is also headlining fundraisers in Washington, D.C., and in Maryland later in December.
“Greater Los Angeles is the number one fundraising base for the Democratic Party. So, that makes perfect sense,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation in Los Angeles, which supports research on policy issues in Southern California. “You are 11 months out from Election Day. You are touching base with a critical base of your campaign. L.A. is also one of the prime centers of organized labor in the country, along with the Midwest. One of his most important political messages is pro-union.”
Sonenshein added, “Southern California is where you’ll have control of the House. … Districts that voted for Biden in 2020 but voted for a Republican House member — those are considered prime targets. One-third of those are in Southern California or New York.”
The entertainment industry has long served as a major source of campaign money for Democrats.
The only slot revealed on the president’s L.A. calendar so far is a…
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