Kamala Harris, shown here at a campaign rally in Arizona, has been greeted by a surge of enthusiasm since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her instead
AFP

Following her multi-day tour of battleground states, Vice President Kamala Harris will attend a significant fundraiser in San Francisco on Sunday to appeal to West Coast donors, some of whom had withdrawn support for President Joe Biden after his lackluster debate performance in June.

According to Reuters, Harris will appeal to Bay Area donors by leveraging her strong local connections and the support of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco for nearly forty years and will join Harris at Sunday's event, according to a campaign official.

Nearly 700 people are expected at the event, which is expected to raise more than $12 million, a campaign official said. Tickets for the Harris Victory Fund event range from $3,300 to $50,000.

The funds add to the record $310 million raised by the Harris-Walz campaign in July, which included $36 million collected in the 24 hours following Harris's announcement of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, reported NBC News.

Pelosi's appearance on Sunday will mark the latest move in a significant shift by the president's long-time ally and friend, who played a crucial, behind-the-scenes role in the Democrats' effort to persuade him to withdraw from the 2024 race.

Pelosi, who endorsed Harris about 24 hours after Biden exited the race, elaborated on her perspective in interviews this week related to her new book, 'The Art of Power'.

Since becoming the Democratic candidate, Harris has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and held rallies with thousands of supporters, consistently surpassing the smaller events Biden held and drawing criticism from Trump, who views crowd size as a key indicator of political strength. The Harris campaign reported that over 12,000 people attended her rally in Las Vegas on Saturday, with police turning away around 4,000 additional people due to health concerns as temperatures soared to 109 degrees Fahrenheit in the Nevada heat.

Walz will not attend Sunday's fundraiser with Harris, according to a campaign official. After a week of traveling together, the event will focus on Harris and her ties to California. After campaigning in Las Vegas with Harris on Saturday, Walz will fly to Minnesota where he'll remain the rest of the weekend, the Harris-Walz campaign told NBC News, adding that he'll be on the East Coast next week.

On Saturday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris told supporters in Nevada that she supported eliminating taxes on tips, aligning with her rival Donald Trump's stance in an effort to appeal to service workers, a key constituency in the state.

"It is my promise to everyone here when I am president we will continue to fight for working families, including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers," Harris said.