US Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign has raised a significant $200 million since President Joe Biden announced his exit from the presidential election race and endorsed her as his successor. This substantial amount of funding is a testament to the widespread support Harris has garnered in a short period of time.
The campaign announced its latest fundraising total on Sunday. It said the bulk of the donations—66 percent—came from first-time contributors in the 2024 election cycle.
Over 170,000 volunteers, a testament to the widespread support, have also signed up to help the Harris campaign with phone banking, canvassing, and other get-out-the-vote efforts.
“The momentum and energy for Vice President Harris are real, and so are the fundamentals of this race: this election will be very close and decided by a small number of voters in just a few states,” Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director, wrote in a memo.
In early July, Donald Trump’s campaign said it raised $331 million in the second quarter, topping the $264 million Biden’s campaign and its Democratic allies raised in the same period.
At the end of June, Trump’s campaign had $284.9 million in cash, while the Democratic campaign had $240 million.
‘Close race’
Harris quickly coalesced Democratic support after Biden, whose candidacy fizzled following his disastrous June 27 debate performance against Trump, exited the race.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Minority Whip Jim Clyburn, former President Bill Clinton, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were quick to announce their support. Their endorsements bolstered Harris’s campaign and signaled a unified front within the Democratic Party.
Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, are prolific Democratic fundraisers. They announced their endorsement on Friday.
The Democratic National Convention next month will, however, decide if Harris will become the party’s nominee.
At her Saturday fundraiser, Harris said she remained the “underdog” in the race but that her campaign was picking up steam.
Her takeover has re-energized a campaign that had faltered badly amid Democrats’ doubts about Biden’s chances of defeating Trump or his ability to continue to govern had he won.
Meanwhile, in his campaign appearance in St Cloud, Minnesota, on Saturday, Trump called Harris a “crazy liberal,” accused her of wanting to “defund the police,” and said she was an “absolute radical” on abortion.
Polls over the past week have shown Harris and Trump tied, setting the stage for a close-fought campaign over the 100 days left until the election.
On Sunday, campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu said on MSNBC that Harris “had one of the best weeks that we’ve seen in politics in the last 50 years.”
“This is going to be a very close race,” he said.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES
