Joe Biden bundlers see surge of pledges from new big money donors after he wins South Carolina

Supporters cheer as Democratic presidential hopeful former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to speak at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, on February 27, 2020.

Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images

Joe Biden won South Carolina's primary, and he is about to score some new donors as a result.

Bundlers backing the former vice president's campaign told CNBC that they are seeing a surge in big money commitments in the wake of Saturday's apparent blowout victory in the Palmetto State.

Fundraisers looking to help Biden secure resources for Tuesday, when 14 states hold primaries, got what they were looking for in the buildup to South Carolina and throughout Saturday. According to people with direct knowledge of the matter, Biden's bundlers lured donors who had been backing Sen. Amy Klobuchar and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. They also grabbed support from donors who had been uncommitted, these people added.

These wealthy donors are now willing to give up to the max amount of $2,800 to Biden's campaign, which has struggled at times to raise cash.

“Money has been pouring in. And now it will really pour. Voters now understand that a vote for anyone other than Biden is a vote for Bernie Sanders,” Florida-based businessman John Morgan, a Biden bundler, told CNBC after his candidate's big win. “I have been inundated with emails today.” 

Sanders became the Democratic primary race's front-runner after winning in Nevada and New Hampshire. Biden's dominant victory in South Carolina will give him enough delegates to at least be in second place behind Sanders. Fifty-four delegates were at stake in the state.

Meanwhile, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been investing millions in delegate-rich Super Tuesday states, making Biden's fundraising boost even more necessary if he wants to continue this momentum into the most pivotal week of the campaign so far. 

“Tonight I have heard from many friends who have been supporting other candidates and now want to do everything they can to nominate Joe Biden,” said Rufus Gifford, the architect of President Barack Obama's fundraising operation and now a Biden supporter. “I've been sending my fundraising link out to lots and lots of people who have not yet given.”

Another Biden bundler, who declined to be named, said he is on track to pick up dozens of new donors by the end of the weekend. Many of these people had committed to becoming surrogates for Bloomberg before the former vice president's win in the Palmetto State. These people who are shifting to Biden, this bundler said, now hope that Bloomberg drops out in order to help the former vice president stop Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist. 

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Alan Patricof, the founder of Greycroft Partners and a Biden fundraiser, said Saturday's win is raising spirits among the former vice president's backers. 

“No one is complacent, but all of Joe's supporters are feeling very much encouraged tonight based on early results,” Patricof told CNBC. 

The Biden campaign itself appeared to confirm what bundlers were already seeing in the wake of the South Carolina triumph. 

“48 mins in and this is the best hour of fundraising the campaign has EVER had,” Elana Firsht, Biden's director of online fundraising, said in a tweet. 

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