Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE’s presidential campaign is hitting major bumps at a critical moment in the 2020 campaign.

A little more than three months before the Iowa caucuses, the former vice president is widely seen as having lost his front-runner position to Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenOvernight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds On The Money: Half of states deplete funds for Trump's 0 unemployment expansion | EU appealing ruling in Apple tax case | House Democrats include more aid for airlines in coronavirus package Warren, Khanna request IG investigation into Pentagon's use of coronavirus funds MORE (D-Mass.).

He’s an underdog in Iowa, is coming off another forgettable debate performance and has just $9 million in cash on hand.

On Friday, the Biden campaign sent an email to its supporters fundraising off the fact that he's behind his opponents in cash.

"I hate to say it, but our opponents are way ahead of us when it comes to money in the bank," the Biden email says. "And on top of that, some of our opponents have boasted raising big bucks since Tuesday night's debate. That could give them a huge leg up going into the next phase of this race. 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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“It’s increasingly clear he's not up to the job of running a campaign,” one Democratic strategist unaffiliated with any of the presidential campaigns said in criticizing Biden’s operation.

Other Democrats say Biden has always been a weak candidate boosted by strong name recognition and his years as former President Obama’s vice president. They argue his centrist politics and elder-statesman status are a difficult fit with a primary electorate that is leaning progressive.

“For a very long time, he's been the superficial front-runner,” said Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko, who served as an aide on Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida Hillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Trump pledges to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, designate KKK a terrorist group in pitch to Black voters MORE's 2016 presidential campaign. “A lot of his policies are not progressive enough. This isn't 1998 and this isn't 2008. He's spent too much time focused on thinking he has to run mainstream to be elected.”

Biden still has strong support among African American voters, who could still be his political salvation.

While he is behind Warren in polls in New Hampshire and Iowa, he has a healthy lead in South Carolina.

But it’s hardly clear that Biden will retain that edge, and other centrist candidates believe they now have a shot of overtaking him. South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg Pete ButtigiegBillionaire who donated to Trump in 2016 donates to Biden The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice MORE, in particular, had a strong debate performance on Tuesday and is raising more money than Biden. Sen. Amy Klobuchar Amy Klobuchar3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing Social media platforms put muscle into National Voter Registration Day Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight MORE’s (D-Minn.) supporters also hope she can make a late charge. Both candidates raised more than $1 million the day after the debate.

The unaffiliated Democratic strategist said the current status of Biden’s campaign should be sending alarm bells throughout the former vice president’s headquarters.

“People are seeing an array of candidates. There are folks who are ready to pick up the anti-Elizabeth Warren mantle like Pete Buttigieg and if they don't reverse course soon, it's going to be all downhill from here. The question is how steep is the decline?” the strategist said.

Parkhomenko said Democrats are worried Biden is not pushing back on Trump as his campaign advertised.

“He needs to own every one of these moments and fight back. He needs to do that consistently. His response to Trump has been slow and inconsistent. That inconsistency has given people pause and concern. ... You see the numbers eroding,” he said.

A spokesman for the former vice president declined to comment.

Biden has consistently cast himself as the candidate best positioned to defeat Trump in 2020, and electability has always been at the center of his message.

Yet, as Trump and his allies ripped Biden over his son’s business in Ukraine, Biden aides realized their candidate was not punching back hard enough.

They shifted last week, showing off a more aggressive Biden, who last week called for Trump’s impeachment.

They’ve also sought to use the story to their advantage, arguing that the Trump attacks illustrate the president’s fear of facing Biden in November.

Biden aides use a drum emoji on social media to bolster their candidate’s statement that he’ll beat Trump “like a drum.”

Biden, during a campaign stop in Ohio this week, responded to Trump’s taunts by telling him to “release your tax returns or shut up.”

But, to some, the attacks have come too late and with less intensity than they had anticipated.

“He missed some real opportunities to own the whole narrative,” another Democratic strategist said. “Their response seems a little off at times.”

Separately, donors have complained that Biden isn’t doing the kind of outreach he should be doing to cultivate relationships with longtime check-writers. Some donors and fundraisers have complained privately that they heard from Biden at the outset of the campaign and then there was no follow up from him.

Other donors to the campaign say they are worried about Biden’s strategy when it comes to Iowa and New Hampshire.

“I don’t know how smart it is to have everything riding on South Carolina,” one said.

“If Warren does well in both states, she’ll easily have the momentum,” the donor added, referring to Iowa and New Hampshire.

Biden’s hiccups have created openings for Buttigieg and Klobuchar — and maybe even former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Michael BloombergBloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida Democratic groups using Bloomberg money to launch M in Spanish language ads in Florida Bloomberg pays fines for 32,000 felons in Florida so they can vote MORE, who has also discussed jumping into the race in case Biden’s support declines.

“The race to replace Trump will eventually come down to one progressive, Warren or Sanders and one moderate. Biden or Buttigieg,” said Democratic strategist Brad Bannon. “Mayor Pete is within striking distance of Biden in Iowa and the former vice president’s campaign could unravel quickly if he falters there.”

Bannon said Buttigieg “distinguished himself in the last debate by offering a more compelling criticism of 'Medicare for All' than Biden did,” and more errors like this could cost him the nomination.

“Joe Biden is cruising to a bruising unless he can reverse the free fall he’s been in since he announced back in the spring,” he said.