Just a few week ago, President Joe Biden made the official decision to end his campaign for reelection. After endorsing Kamala Harris, his current Vice President, for the newest nominee for the party, she quickly shot up in popularity with voters and became the favorite for the Democratic party.
Since then, she raised more than $310 million dollars in small donations towards her campaign. Here’s what the rest of her presidential run might look like thanks to this massive boost in financial support.
Quickly Outpacing Trump
The massive haul in donations quickly put Harris at the forefront of the race.
The current presidential nominee for the Republican party is former President Donald Trump. Currently, his campaign and carious committees said that they took in roughly $138.7 million for July, less than half of what Harris managed.
Other Funds Available for Use
On top of the small donations made to Harris’s campaign, she is expected to take over Joe Biden’s arsenal as well as millions in funding from a super PAC. A super PAC is a political action committee that raises funds from corporations, unions, and individuals for the purpose of supporting a party.
Just under one hundred million dollars was in control of Biden’s team which will now be reallocated to Harris’s campaign efforts.
The Harris Campaign Team is Optimistic
Harris’s team has been showing an optimistic face in light of the trials that such a short campaign window can have.
“The tremendous outpouring of support we’ve seen in just a short time makes clear the Harris coalition is mobilized, growing, and ready to put in the work to defeat Trump this November,” Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. “Our money is going to the work that wins close elections.”
The Trump Assassination Attempt
Just three short weeks ago on July 13, former President Donald Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt. Thankfully, only a small piece of his ear was harmed while he remained safe under the care of the secret service.
As a result of this terrifying affair, his resiliency with his party and subsequent speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC) garnered additional support and donations from his supporters.
Harris To Announce Her Running Mate
After the first jolt of excitement with her campaign and a flurry of excited memes and posts online, the month of August is shaping up as another momentous couple of weeks.
In the next few days, Harris is expected to select her official running mate. Her team has seriously vetted a number of senators, governors and high ranking officials.
Possible Vice President Picks for Harris
So far, some of the top contenders for the running mate are Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a former NASA astronaut and popular among his own constituency; Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, although he’s not a household name, he’s beloved at home, an important battleground state for the election; Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, even in conservative Kentucky, Bechear has won multiple campaigns and stands on a platform of pro-choice advocacy; Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a decorated Army Officer and retured educator who coined the “Republicans are weird” discourse occurring this week.
Political commenters say that any one of these choices could boost Harris’s campaign efforts as each option represents a much needed voter constituency in the country.
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is set to begin on August 19 in Chicago. The convention would normally take place earlier in the year but was postponed due to the summer Olympics currently underway in Paris.
The excitement of her presidential run is expected to be carried through August as she will accept the official nomination for the Democratic party.
Current Plans for the Money
With more than half a million in the bank, the vice president will be stepping up her travel schedule to reach more individual voters around the country.
On top of the much needed in person events to get her message out there, the team will also most likely be spending heavily on TV and social media ads. Harris has already established herself as the prosecutor and Trump as the felon. Important battleground states will most likely be inundated with similar messaging.
Millions of Individual Donors
The bulk of the donations have come from individual residents around the country. More than 3 million donors make up more than 4.2 single contributions.
In the first cycle, she gained more than $200 million in the first week of her campaigning efforts.
White Dudes for Harris
A hotly contested but nonetheless popular account on X (formerly Twitter) called White Dudes for Harris added more than $20 million for her.
The “white dudes” also held an open Zoom event online that features appearances from actors Mark Ruffalo, Mark Hamill and Bradley Whitford who made comedic comments about the “rainbow of beige” in the audience.
Hands on Campaign Contributions
Aside from the financial backing from her voter base, the Harris campaign has also signed up more than 170,000 new volunteers.
With the added hand-on help, the team has been able to plan out 2,300 events with the hopes of encouraging voters in important battleground states to get out and hear the message.
