WASHINGTON - The Morrison Exon dinner is an annual event held by the Nebraska Democratic Party to celebrate volunteers and raise money. This year, the event was moved to an online cocktail hour. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Cori Bush were booked to speak at the video-conference.

Former Nebraska GOP executive director, Nancy Bocskor said campaigns are still just making things up as they go in light of the pandemic. She says fundraising virtually is a huge challenge for candidates as most donations come from events. Mega donors expect one-on-one meetings which has been an issue for candidates as the pandemic continues to run its course. Smaller donors do not necessarily need to be convinced to give $10 to a candidate, so that has been much less of an issue. Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said going virtual does sometimes allow for more participation. This year, the party sold tickets for less than half of what they usually go for and many new faces appeared in the video call.

Campaign managers are speaking about the increased likelihood of prominent guests agreeing to speak at events if it means they can stay home and participate. The Eastman campaign was able to get Alexander Payne to speak on a call and the Bacon campaign had Karen Pence speak for them.

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