Former VP Biden, handful of other candidates make campaign stops in the Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Former vice president Joe Biden spent the day in the Bay Area, attending fundraisers in Palo Alto and San Francisco. A recent CNN poll shows Biden holding a slim lead over senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren amongst Democratic voters in California.

“The day he takes office, hopefully, he’ll know where all the right buttons are, know how to work with any instrument the government has," said Robert Trent Jones, a Biden supporter at the Palo Alto event. "We don’t have time for on the job training."

Biden is just one of several Democratic candidates visiting the Bay Area this week. Tom Steyer and Mike Bloomberg already made stops. 

Politico reports Senator Cory Booker and Mayor Pete Buttigieg will host fundraising events this weekend.

A guest of the Biden fundraiser explained why this is a hot spot for campaigns. “Want the blunt answer? We're an ATM machine," said Jones. 

Some Democratic strategists believe candidates are looking to pick up support from Senator Kamala Harris' donors and endorsements in her home base after she ended her run. 

“Once she left the race, those are like picking up gold coins off the playground, you gotta have those, those chips for the California primary," said longtime Democratic consultant Ed Emerson. 

The week Bloomberg snagged two former Harris supporters, San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo and Stockton mayor Michael Tubbs. 

Strategists say the other obvious motivation is delgate-rich California's new place on Super Tuesday.  

“The primary is so much further forward, you could deliver a real knockout blow if you run high or very well here in California," said Emerson. 

"California's an important place for all the major candidates to make themselves known," said Lisa Noble, another attendee at Biden's Palo Alto fundraiser.