Jim Gianopulos, the CEO of Paramount Pictures, announced he will hold a fundraiser for former vice president Joe Biden's presidential campaign in the next couple of months.
The announcement comes after Biden lost a prominent California backer who also fundraised for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential run over comments he made about working with segregationist senators. Tom McIerneny, a San Francisco attorney, told the Biden campaign he was pulling back his support on June 20.
CNBC reported that the Democratic frontrunner, who lost ground in the polls to Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Ca.) following the first Democratic debate, is traveling to Los Angeles later in July where he will hold several fundraising events.
Gianopulos held a fundraiser in 2014 for New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and held another event for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at his home in Los Angeles which Biden attended.
Last month, Biden lost a prominent supporter when McIerneny announced he was no longer fundraising for the campaign due to Biden's changes of heart on supporting the Hyde Amendment and his defense of working with segregationist senators.
He speculated more donors would abandon the campaign. "I would imagine I’m not alone," McIerneny told CNBC after the first Democratic debate. He also criticized Biden's performance in the debate.
Biden has yet to announce his second quarter fundraising results. However, the Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump's re-election campaign brought in $20 million more than Obama's re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee did over the same period of time.