Nearly a week after US President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed his deputy Kamala Harris as his successor, the vice president’s campaign has raised $200 million, Al Jazeera reports.
The campaign, which announced its latest fundraising total on Sunday, said the bulk of donations — 66 percent — came from first-time contributors in the 2024 election cycle.
Additionally, more than 170,000 volunteers have also enrolled to assist the Harris campaign with phone banking, canvassing and other get-out-the-vote efforts.
“The momentum and energy for Vice President Harris is real — and so are the fundamentals of this race: This election will be very close and decided by a few electors in a few states,” campaign communications director Michael Tyler wrote in a memo.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s campaign said in early July that it raised $331 million in the second quarter, more than the $264 million raised by Biden’s campaign and its Democratic allies in the same period.
Trump’s campaign had US$284.9 million in cash on hand at the end of June, while the Democratic campaign had US$240 million in cash on hand at that time.
Harris quickly garnered Democratic support after Biden, whose candidacy appeared to have ended following his dismal performance in a June 27 debate against Trump, dropped out of 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 immediately announced their support.
Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, the Democratic Party’s top fundraisers, also announced their support Friday.
According to Al Jazeera, next month’s Democratic National Convention will decide whether Harris will become the party’s candidate or not.
Harris said at her fundraiser Saturday that she was still in a “weak” position in the race, but that her campaign was gaining momentum.
His inauguration has re-energized a campaign that had faltered badly, as Democrats remained skeptical about Biden’s chances of defeating Trump or his ability to remain in the White House if he won.
Meanwhile, at a campaign event in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Saturday, Trump called Harris a “crazy liberal,” accused her of wanting to “defund the police,” and said she is a “total radical” on abortion.
With just over 100 days to go until the election, polls over the past week have shown Harris and Trump neck-and-neck, setting up a fierce campaign, reports Al Jazeera.
On Sunday, campaign co-chairman Mitch Landrieu said on MSNBC that Harris had “one of the best weeks in politics in the last 50 years.”
“It will be a very close contest,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
