Some of the top Democratic presidential candidates are trying to make a name for themselves by calling for higher taxes on the wealthy. And for some wealthy donors, that’s not a problem.
Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont are focusing their 2020 campaigns on trendy new tax-the-rich plans, like Warren’s 2 percent wealth tax or Sanders’ expanded estate tax, as they make their cases against President Donald Trump.
The proposals are exciting small-dollar political donors -- and so far aren’t scaring off wealthy contributors, said Rachael Rice, who advises Maryland Democrats on fundraising. Those deep-pocketed donors are more motivated to unseat Trump than worry about their own wallets, she said.
The plans are emerging as some 20 Democratic contenders try to catch fire in a party that is unified in its hopes of defeating Trump next year. They’re looking to ride a wave that reclaimed the House of Representatives for the party last November and swept many unabashed progressives into office.
Patriotic Millionaires, made up of high net-worth donors, was formed in 2010 to demand an end to President George W. Bush’s tax cuts benefiting top earners. Now, the group is pushing for new taxes on the wealthy and is backing ideas like Warren’s proposed annual 2 percent tax on fortunes of more than $50 million and an even larger levy on assets above $1 billion.
“While some may say the proposal is too extreme, as a millionaire I say it’s far overdue,” Patriotic Millionaires Chairman Morris Pearl, a former executive at BlackRock Inc., said of Warren’s proposal in a blog post.
Democratic donors are also more focused on the bigger progressive picture, said Ken Christensen, a Democratic fundraiser in Washington. That’s true for billionaire Tom Steyer, who was the second-largest Democratic donor in the 2018 cycle, and is pouring millions of dollars into a push to trigger impeachment hearings against Trump and to get the president’s tax returns released.
Another factor helping Democrats this cycle: A few wealthy donors don’t mean as much to a campaign as they once did. In fact, having a wide base of donors is critical to make the first televised primary debate in June. To qualify, candidates must have at least 65,000 unique donors with a minimum of 200 donors per state in at least 20 states.
“Fundraising is going to be a barometer of how viable of a candidate you are,” Christensen said.
Sanders, who propelled his 2016 presidential effort with small-dollar donations, seems set to do the same this cycle. He announced his 2020 candidacy on Tuesday and raised $6 million from more than 225,000 donors, with the average donation at $27, his campaign tweeted.