This article was updated on July 12.

PROVINCETOWN — When Vice President Kamala Harris comes to Provincetown to meet with donors on July 20, she will face a crowd of hundreds united around defeating former President Donald Trump — but far less sure that her running mate is up to the task.

President Joe Biden’s halting June 27 debate performance unleashed panic in his party over his age and ability to win. Discussion of Harris shifted from her strengths as a running mate to her potential to replace Biden at the top of the ticket if the president were to bow to pressure and withdraw.

Biden has insisted he will not do that, writing in a July 8 letter to House and Senate Democrats that he was “firmly committed to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump.”

The Provincetown fundraiser for the Biden Victory Fund — a joint fundraising committee of the Biden-Harris campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and 50 state Democratic parties — had already raised $1.3 million by this week, well over the announced million-dollar target.

Harris will be joined in Provincetown by an entourage of prominent Democrats, including Mass. Gov. Maura Healey, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Emmy Award-winning actress Jennifer Coolidge, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, and Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride, according to a person familiar with the plans. McBride is running for a U.S. House seat and if elected would be the first transgender person in Congress.

Like most such events, the July 20 fundraiser raises money through the sale of tickets that are either donations to the Victory Fund or pledges to raise a certain amount. “Co-host tickets,” which include a photo with Harris and premium seating, cost $25,000. “Host tickets” cost $50,000, and event chairs donate at least $150,000 and receive “platinum seating.”

Event host Alan Solomont, who was a finance chair of the Democratic National Committee in 1997 and U.S. ambassador to Spain from 2010 to 2013, told the Independent that while the party faces a “period of uncertainty” the fundraiser will continue as planned. He said questions about the Biden-Harris ticket would likely be resolved by July 20.

“There are no contingencies or alternative plans,” Solomont said. “The purpose of that visit is to further the cause of keeping Donald Trump out of the White House.”

Solomont declined to say if he believed Biden could beat Trump in November — but did say he was confident the Democratic Party could keep Trump from a second White House term.

Event chair Bryan Rafanelli said the debate had not shaken his confidence in Biden.

“I am 150 percent behind the president,” said Rafanelli, who is also a member of the campaign’s national finance committee. “The president will prove himself.”

Rafanelli and his spouse, Mark Walsh, are among the chairs for the fundraiser. The others are Provincetown Banner founder Alix Ritchie and Marty Davis, Ken Fulk and Kurt Wootton, and Tristan Schukraft.

Ritchie and Fulk did not return phone calls from the Independent, while Schukraft could not be reached for comment.

Donor Doubts

Terrence Meck, the Provincetown-based president of the Palette Fund, told the Independent he had pledged $25,000 to co-host the July 20 event but withdrew about a week after the debate.

“I’ve been giving to politics for a long time,” Meck said. “I feel like the best thing [Biden] could do for our country and to protect democracy is to step down and pass the baton on to the next generation, which is something he promised when he ran in 2020.

“I thought long and hard about it before I backed out of this event,” Meck said. “For me, it was not in my heart to continue supporting this candidacy.”

Meck said he will encourage people to vote and to support the Democratic ticket in November. He said his decision was personal and not intended to influence the way others viewed the campaign or the fundraiser.

“I will keep doing whatever it takes,” Meck said. “I feel as a donor and someone who gives on many levels to nonprofits and also politics, that’s one place where I could at least make a stance and a decision for me personally.”

“People are giving money to the Biden-Harris campaign, from $50 to $50,000 at this event, because they quite literally feel like their lives and their families are at risk,” said state Sen. Julian Cyr, who represents the Cape and Islands district.

“LGBTQ people understand that political representation matters — that who is serving and representing us from the White House down to the local level matters,” Cyr said.

Provincetown has been a frequent stop for politicians with strong support in the LGBTQ community, especially in the summer when the town’s population swells.

Biden himself came to Provincetown as vice president to raise money for the Obama-Biden reelection campaign in 2012.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton held two fundraisers here during her 2016 presidential campaign — one of them with Cher — and First Lady Jill Biden was in town last July at a campaign fundraiser that was also hosted by Rafanelli, Walsh, Ritchie, and Davis.

Another Provincetown donor who spoke on condition of anonymity said that, while he had initially supported the president, he came to believe that Biden had too large a target on him to recover. “I think for the good of the country, he should bow out with dignity,” the donor said.

Most of the donors interviewed by the Independent said that Biden’s debate performance had convinced them that Harris would be a stronger candidate for president. They all said they would vote for the Democratic ticket regardless of who leads it.

Dan Wolf, Cyr’s predecessor in the state Senate and the founder of Cape Air, said Biden should resign from the presidency and allow Harris to run as an incumbent in November. “It would be a really magnificent gesture,” Wolf said.

Wolf pointed to the fundraising advantage Harris would have and her ability to run on Biden’s record, which he called “extraordinary.” He said it was difficult for voters like him to know if Biden’s poor performance at the debate was a fluke or a sign of serious deterioration.

“There is a huge responsibility on those who truly understand his condition to communicate that,” Wolf said.

Wolf also said the damage done by the debate looked irreversible to him. “You’ve heard the saying, ‘You can’t unring the bell,’ ” Wolf said.

“There are graceful ways to pass the torch,” Wolf said, adding that “there are graceful ways to do it and less graceful ways to do it.”

At the Event

When Harris speaks to donors here on July 20, she will likely still be the second half of a Biden-Harris ticket.

Several Democratic leaders said Harris should focus on the party and Trump and steer conversations with donors away from herself.

“Any presidential hopeful would be well advised to promote the ticket rather than lobby for their own campaign,” said a party strategist who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Nonetheless, many donors in attendance on July 20 will likely be watching Harris with the role of president — or presidential candidate — in mind.

Cyr, who is up for reelection in November, also declined to say whether he thinks Biden can win.

“I think I’m with Maura Healey, our governor, on this,” Cyr said. “I’m committed to doing everything in my power to defeating Donald Trump.”

Gov. Healey issued a statement on July 5 asking Biden to “listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.”

She also said that “whatever President Biden decides,” she would do everything she could to support the Democratic ticket.

“Donald Trump being our president cannot be an option,” Cyr said.