Two people showed up to Biden debate watch party in Philadelphia

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Several debate watch parties registered with Joe Biden’s campaign had paltry attendance in Philadelphia, where his 2020 presidential campaign is headquartered.

At one party blocks from Biden’s national campaign headquarters, just two people attended, including David Bradford, who hosted the gathering, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Bradford, a registered Republican who is considering changing his party affiliation to vote for Biden in Pennsylvania’s April 28 primary, and another man watched last week’s Democratic presidential debate in silence and left before the three-hour event concluded.

“He’s kind of the shoe we know,” Bradford said. “The comfortable shoe that fits. I see people going, ‘Oh he’s not the brand new shiny toy that others see and find appealing right away’ … I think as we narrow the field … that energy will pick up.”

Two other watch parties within a 20-mile radius of downtown Philadelphia each had no more than seven people in attendance.

In comparison, watch parties for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg have pulled in higher attendance and more enthusiastic supporters.

Marilyn Silberstein, a Biden supporter who hosted a watch party at her apartment in East Falls, Pennsylvania, said the former vice president doesn’t draw as much enthusiasm as other candidates.

“No, he’s not exciting,” she said. “But haven’t we had enough excitement for the last three years? And you know what? That makes me more excited about him.”

Only three people, two of which supported candidates other than Biden, attended Silberstein’s party.

Biden’s campaign has struggled to pull in as much cash as his opponents in recent months and has a higher burn rate than rival campaigns.

“I hate to say it, but our opponents are way ahead of us when it comes to money in the bank,” Elana Firsht, Biden’s online fundraising director, said in an email appeal to supporters last week. “If we don’t pick up the pace here, we might have to make budget cuts that could seriously hurt our momentum in this primary.”

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