But that won’t stop other candidates from turning on the pressure: As they warily size up months of primaries ahead and begin spending heavily on the most expensive piece of campaigning, TV advertising, the need to stockpile new cash reserves is greater than ever. No candidate other than Biden got more donations from the elite fundraisers who powered Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s campaigns than Harris. And Biden’s camp, which saw his fundraising lag in the third quarter but pick up in recent months, is among those pursuing Harris’ donors most aggressively.

“I have called some. And I’m optimistic that a lot of [Harris’] supporters are going to end up supporting Joe,” said Denise Bauer, former U.S. ambassador to Belgium and a fundraiser for Biden. “It’s tough when the person you’ve worked hard for and really believed in leaves a race, but I think so many of those people already know and trust Joe.

Steve Westly, a former California state controller and gubernatorial nominee now raising money for Biden, said he was in conversation with Harris fundraisers and “things are shaking out.” He emphasized the importance of amassing cash now, before the holidays and the final sprint into the Iowa caucuses.

“We’re coming to crunch time. It is incredibly hard to raise money,” Westly said.

This week and next, the Democratic candidates will get an important opportunity to plead their case to California donors in person, as they head west to prepare for the Dec. 19 primary debate in Los Angeles. In between debate prep sessions, they are squeezing in events with prominent Democratic fundraisers before the end-of-year fundraising deadline.