Kamala Harris’ campaign raises $200 million in the week following Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race | US News
Kamala Harris’s election campaign announces it has raised $200m (£156m) since she became a presidential candidate.
The US vice president‘s deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty reveals that 66% of the funds were contributed by new donors, and the campaign has enlisted 170,000 new volunteers.
After 81-year-old US President Joe Biden exited the race last Sunday, citing concerns about his age and health, he endorsed Ms Harris in the upcoming November election against former president Donald Trump.
With the majority of delegates supporting her at the Democratic National Convention, Ms Harris is likely to secure the party’s nomination for president.
Mr Flaherty shared on X: “Within a week, @KamalaHarris has raised $200 million. Two-thirds of that came from new donors. We’ve also welcomed 170,000 new volunteers.
“A grassroots campaign for a grassroots presidency.”
Ms Harris, the first black woman and first Asian American to hold the vice president position, collected her initial $100m (£78m) within 36 hours of Mr Biden’s withdrawal, according to her office.
Read more:
Trump tells Christians they ‘won’t have to vote again’
Trump running mate defends ‘childless cat ladies’ jibe
Her emergence has reinvigorated the Democrats’ campaign, which struggled amid doubts about Mr Biden’s ability to defeat Mr Trump or handle the presidency if elected.
Several polls suggest that Ms Harris’s entry quickly eroded Mr Trump’s lead over Mr Biden.
Mitch Landrieu, a campaign co-chair, expressed to MSNBC that Harris “had one of the best weeks that we’ve seen in politics in the last 50 years”.
“This is going to be a very close race,” he added.
Ms Harris campaigned in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday at a fundraiser that had been planned during Mr Biden’s time as the Democratic frontrunner.
The fundraiser was projected to raise $400,000 (£311,000) but ended up collecting approximately $1.4m (£1.1m), the campaign revealed.
During the event, Ms Harris positioned herself as “the underdog” in the race but expressed confidence in her campaign’s momentum.