US Vice President Kamala Harris raised a record $310 million in July, according to her campaign, giving the presumptive Democratic nominee a cash advantage over Republican Donald Trump.
Harris’ haul, which includes money raised for her campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties, more than doubles the $138.7 million Trump, the GOP nominee, raised in July. She started August with $377 million cash on hand, the largest war chest at this point in an election cycle and more than the $327 million Trump reported having in the bank.
The campaign said the July haul was aided by “the best grassroots fundraising month in presidential history.”
The flood of money highlights how Harris, who only entered the race on July 21 after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid, has galvanized Democratic voters and donors who have quickly coalesced behind a new standard-bearer. Biden saw donations freeze toward the end of his campaign, with donors dismayed by a disastrous debate performance by the sitting president.
The tally marks a worrisome development for Trump’s campaign, which saw its fundraising surge in the second quarter to erase what had been a massive advantage for Biden. The Republican former president started July with $45 million more cash on hand than Biden.
Harris’ total includes $200 million that she raised in the week after Biden ended his candidacy and endorsed her for the Democratic nomination.
Grassroots donors giving less than $200 accounted for 94% of the 4.2 million donations received, the campaign said. Of the three million individuals who gave, two million made their first donation, and 60% were women. Coalition groups, including Black Women for Harris and Latinas for Harris, raised $20 million.
Harris is seeking to become the first Black woman president in US history.
“The tremendous outpouring of support we’ve seen in just a short time makes clear the Harris coalition is mobilized,” said Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez.
Harris has received support from some prominent big-dollar Democratic donors. Hedge fund manager George Soros signaled his support shortly after Biden endorsed her, as did party backers on Wall Street and in Hollywood. Billionaires Mark Cuban, Reid Hoffman and Vinod Khosla were among the more than 200 venture capitalists who publicly backed her campaign on Wednesday.
The campaign has spent heavily on media and resources to get out the vote in November. It has more than 260 offices in battleground states, staffed by more than 1,400 people. The campaign is also spending $50 million on paid media ahead of the Democratic National Convention that starts in Chicago on August 19.
More than 170,000 new volunteers have joined the campaign, which held 2,300 events mobilizing supporters in battleground states last weekend.
(c) Washington Post