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.
Harris campaigned in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday, drawing hundreds of people to a fundraiser that 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.
Harris quickly gathered Democratic support after Biden, whose candidacy fizzled following his disastrous June 27 debate performance 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 Leader Jim Clyburn, former President Bill Clinton and former -Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were quick to announce their support.
Prodigious Democratic Fundraisers Former President Barack Obama and His Wife Michelle Obama announced their endorsement on Friday.
Harris, at her fundraiser on Saturday, said she remained the “underdog” in the race but that her campaign was gaining momentum.
Future Forward, the largest super PAC in Democratic politics, announced last week that it had secured $150 million in donor commitments in the first 24 hours after Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris.
Democratic candidates for the House and Senate say they also saw an increase in support since Harris emerged as the party’s presumptive nominee.
Meanwhile, Trump and his surrogates have intensified efforts to frame Harris as a far-left politician, out of touch with the American mainstream.
Trump, at a campaign appearance in St. Cloud, Minnesota, on Saturday, called Harris a “crazy liberal,” accused her of wanting to “defund the police” and said she was an “absolute radical” on abortion. vocal supporter of abortion rightshas made clear that he will make Republican-backed efforts to restrict reproductive rights a key plank of his campaign.
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.
“Frankly, this emboldens Iran and terrorist groups like Hezbollah because they believe that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will continue to exert more pressure on Israel than on Iran and its terrorists who surround Israel with the stated goal of destroying Israel,” he said. Cotton. he said.
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 acknowledged that both Trump and his running mate J.D. 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. I think he was on the right track for a few months there. I think the change in the campaign encouraged him to go against her, personally.”
But Sununu also acknowledged that “no one can convince Donald Trump to do anything. But I hope that the numbers, the polls, make Donald Trump realize what worked and what didn’t.”
Sununu was on ABC’s “This Week” and Cotton was on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
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