US Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign has raised nearly $500 million since she became the Democratic presidential nominee, an unprecedented sum that reflects donors’ enthusiasm for the November 5 election, sources told Reuters.
The figure for Harris was raised in the four weeks since she entered the election on July 21, four sources familiar with the fundraising effort told Reuters.
Campaign cash is crucial for advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts, which help get people to the polls and help sway undecided voters to a candidate’s side.
Harris entered the field after President Joe Biden stepped away from the top of the Democratic ticket, unleashing a flood of money that had dried up in the weeks following Biden’s disastrous debates against Republican Donald Trump.
Harris raised $200 million in the first week of her campaign and quickly garnered support to become the party’s nominee.
According to the campaign, Harris’s team raised $310 million in July, bringing the total raised by her and Biden to over $1 billion, the fastest amount to cross the fundraising threshold in history.
Trump’s campaign said it raised $138.7 million in July and had $327 million in cash on hand. The former president’s campaign outpaced Biden’s in the second quarter.
Enthusiasm for Harris, who had $377 million in cash on hand in July, continued in August, reflected in donations from small donors as thousands attended her rallies in politically crucial states across the country.
Biden’s campaign committee raised $1.04 billion in the 2020 election cycle, or $1.62 billion combined with outside groups, according to OpenSecrets, a group that tracks money in politics.
Harris praised Biden on Monday on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where the president touted his record in a speech and urged voters to support Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in November.
Former President Barack Obama, also a big fundraising draw, will address the convention on Tuesday night, while Harris will encourage voters in nearby Wisconsin.
Obama attended two high-profile fundraising events with Biden and offered further support to Harris.
Harris has repeatedly portrayed herself as a weak competitor in the race against Trump, hoping to prevent complacency among her voters and donors.
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