By ELENA SCHNEIDER and JONATHAN LEMIRE
The president’s reelect is taking the threat seriously. And the party’s big money donors are trying to fund counter-offensive operations.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman convened a Zoom call with 30 other like-minded donors this week to address a persistent fear among national Democrats: Third-party candidates who could undercut Joe Biden’s campaign.
In particular, the donors on the line were worried about No Labels, a group that said it has raised millions to gain access to the ballot in at least 10 states for a potential presidential candidate. Hoffman and Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist organization Third Way, argued during the meeting that not only is a third-party victory implausible but that independent candidates would inevitably hurt Biden, said one participant on the call, granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly.
Hoffman has contributed $1.5 million to help with legal and political efforts to stop No Labels. But he and Bennett asked donors to pony up more, aiming to raise $3 million to $4 million total, the meeting participant said…
