Democrats Set High Money Goals Before Caucuses: Campaign Update

(Bloomberg) -- Elizabeth Warren’s campaign set the most aggressive fundraising goal for the last 5 days of the month, as candidates work furiously to raise enough money to keep their campaigns in high gear.

In an email to supporters Monday, Warren set a financial goal of raising $3.5 million between now and Friday, which would average out to $700,000 per day, her biggest fund-raising goal to date. “That’s what it’s going to take to start 2020 in the strongest position possible and keep our plans to win on track,” the campaign said.

By comparison, Pete Buttigieg has set a fundraising goal of $1 million, or $200,000 per day. Joe Biden asked supporters to pitch in to an “emergency fundraising drive this week,” saying the campaign is only at 34% of their goal. Amy Klobuchar set a goal of $621,000 per day to stay on track, the campaign said. Bernie Sanders, who has topped the Democratic field in fundraising in the last two quarters, was “shooting for a HISTORIC number of donations” to maintain his momentum, according to campaign Facebook ads.

All the candidates were working to fill up their campaign bank accounts and demonstrate political strength in the days before the Iowa caucuses. The negative effects of a poor showing in early nominating states could snowball and make fundraising even more difficult. Sanders, Biden and Buttigieg all raised more money than Warren in the final quarter of 2019.

Bloomberg Seeks to Limit Drug Patent Protection (2:50 p.m.)

Democratic presidential Michael Bloomberg would seek to reduce the cost of prescription drugs with a plan that includes limiting new brand-name drugs to a single patent to get lower-priced generics to the market faster.

There have been unsuccessful efforts to limit so-called “evergreening,” or obtaining multiple patents to extend exclusivity in the past. But the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate said he would work with Congress to ensure only qualifying products get 20-year patent protection to stop manufacturers from slowing the introduction of generics.

Bloomberg is also proposing capping out-of-pocket drug spending for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 a year in addition to steps other Democratic presidential candidates have proposed, including authorizing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and allowing Americans to buy medicine from other countries with adequate quality control.

Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. -- Mark Niquette

Trump to Flood Iowa with Big Name Supporters (11:56 a.m.)

President Donald Trump’s campaign plans to flood Iowa with Cabinet secretaries, lawmakers and senior White House officials for the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses next week, in a show of strength designed to kick off his re-election bid.

The president has no serious challenge in the Iowa Republican contest, with one-term Illinois congressman Joe Walsh and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld the only other Republicans seeking the party’s nomination. Still, his campaign has sought to capitalize on the attention being paid to the Democratic nominating contest, and the president himself will travel to Des Moines on Thursday for a political rally.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos are among those expected to appear on the president’s behalf, rallying support from Republican caucus-goers. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie are also among the dozens of surrogates expected to attend.

“Our Caucus Day operation is just a preview of what is to come,” Brad Parscale, Trump’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “We are putting the Democrats on notice -- good luck trying to keep up with this formidable re-election machine.”

Other surrogates expected to appear in Iowa include My Pillow Inc. chief executive Mike Lindell and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, who was disappointed to have been left off Trump’s impeachment defense team. -- Justin Sink

COMING UP:

Some of the Democratic candidates will debate again in New Hampshire on Feb. 7.

The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses will be held Feb. 3. The New Hampshire primary is Feb. 11. Nevada holds its caucuses on Feb. 22 and South Carolina has a primary on Feb. 29.

CNN will host town halls featuring eight presidential candidates in New Hampshire on Feb. 5 and 6.

(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)

--With assistance from Mark Niquette and Justin Sink.

To contact the reporter on this story: Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Magan Crane

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.