If Democratic Party donors were holding onto their wallets out of concern for President Joe Biden’s chances to defeat Donald Trump in November’s presidential election, they don’t appear nearly as worried about Vice President Kamala Harris.
Just one day after Biden announced that he was bowing out of the race and tossing the keys to his campaign over to Harris, the vice president’s operation pulled in a whopping $81 million in new donations to augment the quarter-billion dollar war chest raised over the last year and a half.
According to the newly-rebranded Harris for President campaign, that eye-popping sum “reflects money raised across the campaign, Democratic National Committee, and joint fundraising committees,” and includes 888,000 grassroot donors, a full 60 per cent of whom gave for the first time this cycle.
The campaign also announced a new crop of 43,000 recurring donors who signed up after Biden passed the torch to Harris, as well as $1.6m raised by a zoom call hosted by the group Win with Black Women.
Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, said the “historic outpouring” of support for Harris “represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections.”
“Already, we are seeing a broad and diverse coalition come together to support our critical work of talking to the voters that will decide this election,” he said.
“There is a groundswell behind Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump is terrified because he knows his divisive, unpopular agenda can’t stand up to the Vice President’s record and vision for the American people.”
The massive money haul for the first Black and South Asian woman to ever lead a major party ticket — the largest single-day fundraising total for any presidential candidate in recorded history — comes as the Democratic Party largely consolidated support behind the vice president while hailing Biden’s exit as a heroic gesture reminiscent of George Washington’s decision not to seek a third term at the dawn of the American republic.
Harris has locked up endorsements from significant numbers of key Democratic interest groups, and a majority of party delegates are expected to support her when Democrats hold a virtual roll call ahead of next month’s quadrennial nominating convention