Kamala Harris’s surprise exit from the presidential race is expected to spur a fresh round of jockeying for her wealthy Wall Street donors, sources told The Post.
In bowing out Tuesday, Harris said she was “not a billionaire” and “simply doesn’t have the financial resources to continue” the 2020 race.
The concession has left her monied financial backers scrambling to figure out who to support next — with some saying they expect the biggest beneficiaries will be Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., former Vice President Joe Biden, and ex-NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“We are all asking each other what to do,” a Wall Street fundraiser who had been spreading his bets between Harris and Biden, told The Post. “I think most Wall Street Harris backers will support Biden or sit on the sidelines and root for Bloomberg,” this person added.
Democratic fundraiser and technology investor Mark Patricof told The Post he sees Harris’s support getting “split equally between Buttigieg and Biden.” Patricof, a Crestview Partners senior adviser, thinks Bloomberg could also pick up Harris supporters — but not until he proves himself a viable candidate.
He’s still a “wild-card nominee,” Patricof said of the founder of financial media services giant Bloomberg LP, who entered the race two weeks ago.
Harris, a former prosecutor and California senator, had quickly become a favorite of wealthy Wall Streeters known for backing Democratic candidates. Sources said those include hedge fund billionaire Marc Lasry, a former Clinton supporter and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.
After the news of the Harris exit broke Tuesday, presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg e-mailed Wall Street Democrats to say he would be in town with newly scheduled events next Tuesday, Dec. 10, and Wednesday, Dec. 11.
Biden, meanwhile, was glad-handing with New York’s wealthy liberals at two different events Tuesday, one of which promoted him as “the only viable moderate and the only candidate who can beat Trump,” according to a copy of the invitation obtained by The Post.
Buttigieg leads his rivals in collecting contributions from the securities and investment industry, at $1 million through the end of September, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Biden is next, with $982,000, followed by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, at $977,00, and Harris at $825,000.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is in fifth place, with $517,000 in contributions from the industry, while Warren and Sanders have pulled in $223,000 and $134,000 respectively.
In many cases, Wall Street’s liberals appear to be throwing money at a range of candidates in hopes of getting anyone but Sanders or Warren.
Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, for example, has contributed to the campaigns of both Buttigieg and Cory Booker, records show.
In 2016, Ackman publicly threw his support behind Bloomberg, who never ended up running.
This year, Ackman’s not ready to declare his candidate, a source told The Post.