Kamala Harris Campaign Raises $200m In Week Following Joe Biden's Withdrawal

In less than a week, Kamala Harris has raised $200 million for her presidential campaign, according to a statement from her team on Sunday. The vice president is hoping that the influx of money will help her prospects of defeating Donald Trump.

According to Sky News, Rob Flaherty, the deputy campaign manager for the US vice president, said that more than 170,000 new volunteers have signed up for the campaign, and 66% of the cash have been generated from new donors. The volunteers have also signed up to help the Harris campaign with phone banking, canvassing and other get-out-the-vote efforts.

The campaign revealed its most recent fundraising total on Sunday. It stated that the majority of the contributions, or 66%, were from those who were contributing for the first time in the 2024 election cycle and did so after President Joe Biden declared his intention to withdraw from the race and endorsed Harris.

"The momentum and energy for Vice President Harris is 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," Michael Tyler, the campaign's communications director, wrote in a memo, reported The Associated Press.

On Saturday, Harris had a campaign stop in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where she attracted a large crowd to a fundraiser that was planned back when Biden was leading the Democratic field. The campaign stated that although the fundraiser was only intended to earn $400,000, it really raised almost $1.4 million.

Harris at her Saturday fundraiser said she remained the "underdog" in the race but that her campaign was picking up steam.

Mitch Landrieu, a campaign co-chair, told MSNBC that Harris "had one of the best weeks that we've seen in politics in the last 50 years".

Just one week ago, US President Joe Biden decided not to run for reelection and instead supported the vice-president to succeed him, a decision that completely changed the dynamics of the US election. Within 36 hours following Biden's announcement, Harris—the first Asian American and Black woman to hold the office of vice president—reaped her first $100 million (£78 million), according to her office.

In contrast to Biden's performance, Harris has since swiftly brought the Democratic party together in support of her candidacy and gained progress against Trump in the polls. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Minority Whip Jim Clyburn, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were quick to announce their support.

Harris is screening potential vice presidents and is anticipated to make her selection public within the next two weeks.