Kamala Harris' presidential campaign raises $81 million in first 24 hours

Washington: US Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has raised $81 million in the first 24-hour period since incumbent President Joe Biden stepped aside from the presidential race and endorsed his deputy as the Democratic Party’s new nominee.

Biden’s decision to nominate Harris (59) follows weeks of intense pressure from fellow Democrats after his disastrous presidential debate performance against his Republican rival and former US President Donald Trump last month.

Kevin Munoz, the spokesperson for Harris’ campaign, said, “There is a groundswell behind Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is terrified because he knows his divisive and unpopular agenda can’t stand up to the vice president’s record and vision for the American people.”

“Team Harris raised $ 81 million in its first 24 hours, adding to the near quarter-of-a-billion dollar war chest already amassed this election cycle. This haul reflects money raised across the campaign, Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees,” a media release said.

Over 8,88,000 grassroots donors made donations in the past 24 hours, 60 per cent of whom made their first contribution of the 2024 cycle, it said, adding, “Team Harris’ 24-hour raise is the highest 24-hour raise of any candidate in history.”

“In the last 24 hours, Team Harris has added 43,000 new recurring donors, with over half of these recurring donors signing up for weekly donations. A call on Sunday evening hosted by Win with Black Women raised approximately USD 1.6 million in grassroots contributions alone. And Harris for President’s official social media, @KamalaHQ, doubled its following overnight,” the campaign said in a statement.

Reacting to the support for the campaign, Munoz said, “The historic outpour of support for Vice President 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 added.

Though Biden’s endorsement almost seals Harris’ position as the presidential nominee of her party, she still needs to get elected by the party’s delegates during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from August 19-22.

Biden has won 3,896 delegates as against 1,976 required to win the party’s presidential nomination.

In a move that would give her access to the campaign funds, the Biden-Harris campaign amended filings with the Federal Election Commission to rename its principal committee and declare Harris a candidate for president.

Following Biden’s decision, Harris, who has been serving as the US’ first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president since 2021, immediately secured the endorsement of former president Bill Clinton, thus making it a bit easier for her to win the delegate battle during the party convention.

An “overwhelming majority” of state Democratic Party chairs have announced their support for Vice President Harris as their nominee for president, the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC) said in a statement.