U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives to boards Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S. on July 24, 2024.
Brendan Smialowski | Via Reuters
Vice President Kamala Harris’ allies on Wall Street huddled on a private Zoom call Wednesday to strategize how to defeat former President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.
The call featured dozens of major financiers backing Harris, and lasted over an hour. They include Avenue Capital CEO Marc Lasry, Centerview Partners co-founder Blair Effron, Lazard President Ray McGuire, former Treasury Secretary and veteran banking executive Robert Rubin, businessman Tony Coles, Paul, Weiss chairman Brad Karp, founder of 32 Advisors Robert Wolf, longtime asset manager Brian Mathis and Jon Henes, the CEO of C Street Advisory Group, according to these people.
Those who spoke to CNBC did so anonymously in order to speak freely about private matters. CNBC was first to report on the scheduled call Tuesday morning.
People on the call said it was the first gathering that had brought all of these major players together in finance and business since President Joe Biden dropped out the race. The goal was to start organizing a large scale fundraising effort in support of Harris’ campaign.
“We need to raise a ton of money,” said someone on the call, describing the first portion of the conversation.
Rufus Gifford, the finance chair for the Harris campaign, fielded questions and comments on the call, while encouraging people to give and help raise money for the campaign, according to people familiar with the event.
The campaign said it has already raised over $100 million since Biden endorsed Harris on Sunday. But this call and others like it are clearly meant to keep the vice president’s fundraising momentum going in the weeks and months ahead.
Some on the call also encouraged the campaign to step up its efforts to connect with Black voters, according to some on the call. Others wanted to hear more from the Harris campaign, including a full agenda for the Democratic National Convention, another person on the call said.
There were also key conversations about where Harris stands on the war between Israel and Hamas, and her policy stances on economics and tech, according to people on the call.
Harris is expected to head into the convention in Chicago in August having already secured the roll call votes to win the Democratic nomination.