UPDATED as of Wednesday, July 26:
The Biden campaign announced yesterday that Friday’s Laguna Beach fundraiser for the President’s re-election has been postponed following the recent news that the incumbent has dropped out of the race. The private event is now said to center around Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, now the presumed Democratic presidential nominee.
Carol Leslie Hamilton, a Beverly Hills lawyer who worked with the Biden Administration told the Indy the event is currently postponed, with no future date set in stone, as the Harris campaign reconfigures its campaign plans.
“The campaign is figuring out what the new schedule is going to be and who’s going to where. It’s going to take a little time to figure that out,” Hamilton said. “There are several events around the country that are being temporarily postponed and reevaluated in terms of the President’s time, and now the Vice President’s time. The campaigns are having to rework schedules because now we have a new candidate. Maybe the new candidate needs to go to places where perhaps she wasn’t going to go initially. Before she was going as a supporter of the president and now she’s going as a supporter of her own candidacy.”
Hamilton added she hopes the transition logistics between Biden and Harris’s campaign happen soon.
“Hopefully that won’t take too long because we only have three and a half months left until the election,” she said. “It’s coming up quickly.”
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Following in the footsteps of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in 2016, President Joe Biden is anticipated to arrive in Laguna Beach next Friday, July 26, for a private campaign fundraiser hosted by Getty Oil heir Anne Earhart, Janet Keller and Bernie Schneider, and former United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra James Costos.
According to a Biden Victory Fund event invitation, tickets for the private reception range from $1,000 to $250,000.
As of July 18, the fundraiser is going ahead as planned, but the announcement comes when Biden, 81, faces mounting pressure from top Democrats to call off his presidential campaign because of health and competency concerns. On top of that, this Wednesday, July 17, the Biden administration revealed the president had tested positive for COVID-19.
Peggy Wolff, chair of the Laguna Beach Democratic Club, said it comes as no surprise Biden should want to campaign in Laguna Beach.
“Laguna Beach has always been a stronghold for Democrats. In fact, ours was the first Democratic Club in Orange County, founded in 1945,” Wolff said. “I’m not sure about other Democratic presidential candidates coming through Laguna Beach other than Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but blue candidates wanting to make their mark in the sea of red that is Orange County know they will get a warm reception in Laguna.”
According to voter data from OCvote.gov, 7,626 of Laguna Beach’s 17,810 registered voters are Democrats, and 5,076 are Republicans.
“Laguna Beach prides itself on being a tight-knit community where neighbors take care of one another,” Wolff said. “That, and its history as a free-thinking enclave, can explain its consistently higher percentage of Democrats. We deeply appreciate the affluent Lagunans who are willing to put their money where their mouths are to protect the rights we had thought were enshrined but are now under threat.”
Wolff said she knew of a few Democrats who would be attending the private fundraiser. However, the price of entry is out of reach of most of the Democratic Club’s members.
“It’s not unusual to hold high-ticket events in a presidential election year,” she added.
Laguna Beach has two Democrats running for two open City Council seats this November: Hallie Jones, Crystal Cove Conservancy’s Executive Vice President and Judie Mancuso, founder and CEO of a legislative nonprofit that advocates for environmental protections, animal rights and fiscal accountability.
The two incumbents, council members Bob Whalen and George Weiss, have yet to file their intention to run for reelection. The deadline to do so is Aug. 9.
“Our club is working hard by getting out the vote and canvassing, sending postcards to voters, doing everything we can to make sure people are registered and cast their ballots,” Wolff said.
Biden isn’t the first presidential candidate to make a stop in Laguna this year. Back in late April, Nikki Honarkar Bostwick and her husband, Eric Bostwick, hosted a private fundraiser for presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., who is running as an Independent. Tickets for the event started at $1,500.
After his stop in Laguna Beach, Biden is scheduled to attend a campaign fundraiser in Piedmont, Calif., outside of Oakland, hosted by Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan, and Buffy Wicks and Peter Ambler.
