Harris’ election effort raises around $500 million in a month, sources say
CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has raised around $500 million since she became the Democratic nominee for the presidency, four sources told Reuters, in what would be an unprecedented collection of money reflecting donor energy going into the Nov. 5 election.
Four sources familiar with the fundraising effort told Reuters that the figure had been banked for Harris in the four weeks since she jumped into the race on July 21.
Campaign cash is indispensable for advertising and get-out-the-vote efforts ” that ” bring people to the polls, including helping to tip undecided voters into a candidate’s column.
Harris entered the fight after President Joe Biden moved aside from the top of the Democratic ticket, unleashing torrents of funding that had dried up in the weeks since Biden’s disastrous debate against Republican Donald Trump.
Within a week of her campaign launch, Harris had raised $200 million, as she quickly consolidated support to become the party nominee.
That brings her team to $310 million this month and more than $1 billion raised with Biden before he dropped out—the fastest sprint to that threshold in history, the campaign said.
Trump’s campaign said it raised $138.7 million in July and had cash on hand of $327 million. The former president’s campaign outraised Biden in the second quarter.
Enthusiasm for Harris, whose July cash on hand came in at $377 million, has continued into August, manifested by donations from small-dollar donors as thousands of people show up to her rallies in political swing states across the country.
According to OpenSecrets, which tracks money in politics, Biden’s campaign committee raised “$1.04 billion in the 2020 election cycle or $1.62 billion when combined with outside groups.”.
Harris hailed Biden during an appearance Monday night at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where the President, in a speech, ticked off his record and pressed voters to elect him to a second term this November— Vice Presidential nominee Harris and her running mate, Minnesota: Gov. Tim Walz.
Former President Barack Obama, a fundraising behemoth, takes on the convention on Tuesday night while Harris works overtime to create a little buzz in Wisconsin, right next door. Obama has attended a couple of high-profile, high-dollar fundraisers with Biden and has offered to hold more events for her. Meanwhile, Harris has referred to herself as an underdog running against Trump over and over again, an attempt, she says, to prevent her supporters from taking things for granted.
