Harris raised $200 million in the first week of her White House campaign and signed up 170,000 volunteers

WASHINGTON – vice president Kamala Harris’ campaign has raised $200 million since she emerged as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee last week, a surprising result in her race against the Republican nominee, former President donald trump.

The campaign, which announced its latest fundraising totals on Sunday, said the majority of donations — 66% — come from first-time contributors in the 2024 election cycle and were made after President Joe Biden. announced his departure of the race and endorsed Harris.

More than 170,000 volunteers have also signed up to help Harris’ campaign with phone banking, campaigning and other get-out-the-vote efforts. There are 100 days until election day.

“Vice President Harris’s momentum and energy are real – and so are the fundamentals of this race: This election will be very close and decided by a small number of voters in just a few states,” said Michael Tyler, the campaign’s communications director. wrote in a memo.

Her campaign said it held about 2,300 events in swing states this weekend, while several high-profile Democrats considered to serve as Harris’ running mates were stumped by her.

Harris campaigned in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday, attracting hundreds to a fundraiser which was organized when Biden was still at the top of the Democratic ticket. The fundraiser was originally expected to raise $400,000, but ended up raising about $1.4 million, according to the campaign.

Mandy Robbins, 45, of Decatur, Georgia, drove to one of the events organized Sunday in Atlanta’s northern suburbs to hear from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a potential Harris running mate.

She considered that Biden did a “great job” in the White House, but acknowledged that she “wouldn’t have been as enthusiastic” if he had remained in the race.

“I finally feel hopeful now,” Robbins said. She added: “We can beat this with Harris.”

Beshear spoke from experience to supporters, telling them their work could be the difference in what is expected to be a close race. Beshear won his 2019 campaign by a margin of about 5,000 votes out of 1.41 million votes cast. He was re-elected in November by a relatively comfortable margin.

“Every knock on the door mattered. Every phone call was important. Every difficult conversation people had with their uncle at Thanksgiving was important,” Beshear said of his 2019 run. “Everyone here today who signs up to volunteer…you can be the difference in winning this race for Vice President Harris.”

Meanwhile, Trump, running mate Senator JD Vance and their surrogates have intensified efforts to frame Harris as a far-left politician, out of touch with the American mainstream.

Vance said after a stop at a restaurant in Waite Park, Minn., on Sunday that Harris “felt a little bump with her performance” but predicted it would soon dissipate.

“Look, people are going to know her background,” Vance said. “They will learn that she is radical. They will learn that she is basically a San Francisco liberal who wants to take San Francisco policies nationwide.”

Vance was echoing Trump, who at a campaign appearance with Vance in St. Cloud, Minn., on Saturday called Harris a “crazy liberal,” accused her of wanting to “defund the police” and said she was an “absolute radical ” in abortion. . Harris, a vocal supporter of abortion rightshas made clear that he will make Republican-backed efforts to restrict reproductive rights a key plank of his campaign.

“There is no liberal horse she has chosen not to ride,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Trump supporter Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., also tried to label Harris as a full partner for “many of the Biden administration’s worst decisions,” including the chaotic August 2021 U.S. troop withdrawal that led to the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and military.

Cotton also accused Harris of encouraging Iranian representatives of Hamas and Hezbollah by pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over civilian casualties in the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu met separately with Harris and Biden at the White House on Thursday. Afterwards, Harris said he asked Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire agreement soon with the militant group Hamas so that dozens of hostages held by the militants in Gaza since October 7 can return home. Harris said he also affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself, but expressed deep concern about the high death toll in Gaza and the “terrible” humanitarian situation there.

Tensions in the Middle East intensified on Saturday after Israeli officials said a rocket from Lebanon hit a football field in the Golan Heights, controlled by Israel, killing 12 children and teenagers. The strike raised fears of a wider regional war between Israel and Hezbollah, which denied any role in the attack.

Trump at his Saturday rally said the incident on the Golan Heights “It will be marked as another moment in history created by a weak and ineffective president and vice president of the United States.” And Vance accused Harris on Sunday of being “a disaster” in the conflict.

Still, some Republicans are concerned that Harris’ arrival has given Democrats a spark and that Trump needs to recalibrate.

Gov. Chris Sununu, R-N.H., said Harris is in a “honeymoon” period that will likely last a month, but also said both Trump and Vance should stop personal attacks against Harris because they won’t get people to vote. Instead, he said they should stick to the issues and “stay away from the insults.”

He said Trump missed an opportunity to do that at recent campaign events, but “I hope they can get back on track.” Sununu, however, acknowledged that “no one can convince Donald Trump to do anything” that he doesn’t want to do.

“But I hope the numbers, the polls, make Donald Trump realize what worked and what didn’t,” Sununu said.

Graham was on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Sununu was on ABC’s “This Week,” and Cotton was on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

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Price reported in Waite Park, Minnesota, and Barrow in Cumming, Georgia. Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.