Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris arrives at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport in Westfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday.
Stephanie Scarbrough/AFP
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Stephanie Scarbrough/AFP
Vice President Kamala Harris has raised more than $200 million in the week since announcing her presidential bid, according to her campaign.
To put that into perspective, that’s four times what Biden’s reelection effort raised in the entire month of April. Former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump’s campaign said he raised nearly $112 million in June, according to Politico.
The Harris campaign said 66% of donations came from first-time donors. In addition to the new funding, the campaign has recruited more than 170,000 new volunteers since President Joe Biden announced his resignation last Sunday and endorsed her as the Democratic nominee.
The vice president needs that energy badly, and as of Sunday, there are only 100 days until voters go to the polls. This weekend alone, the Harris campaign has scheduled more than 2,000 events in swing states.
“Vice President Harris’ momentum and energy are real, and so are the fundamentals of this campaign: This election will be very close and decided by a handful of voters in a handful of states,” campaign communications director Michael Taylor, in the memo wrote.
The vice president has secured the pledges of enough Democratic National Convention delegates to lock down the nomination, with elected Democrats and grassroots groups rallying around her.
At a fundraiser in the Berkshires on Saturday, Harris told supporters that she was underdog in the race but was encouraged by the overwhelming support she had received. About half of the money raised in the first week came in the first 24 hours after Biden endorsed her. This is a record-breaking speed.
“Since then, in battleground states, people have poured into our offices across the country to volunteer,” she said in Pittsfield, Mass. “It’s been great. We have momentum.”
A key aspect of her campaign remains to be seen: Who will Harris choose as her running mate? The selection process for a vice president typically takes several months. But for Harris, the length of her deliberations is best measured in days.
A source familiar with her thinking said Harris is looking for a vice president with senior executive experience and someone who can serve as a governing partner with her, among other factors. The sources declined to name those under review.
A second source said Harris’ team has not yet narrowed it down and is reviewing more than a dozen potential candidates, but also declined to name those being reviewed.
The sources requested anonymity to share information about the private process.
