Vice President Kamala Harris raised more than $81 million in the 24 hours after President Joe Biden announced the suspension of his reelection campaign, and she signaled her own campaign for president — a new presidential donation record.
Harris’ campaign says the influx of cash came from more than 880,000 donors through the progressive-leaning online fundraising platform ActBlue. Some 60 percent of donors were giving for the first time in the 2024 cycle.
Democratic leaders, organizations and everyday voters are coalescing around Harris’ campaign, including Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Her bid has one more hurdle to clear in order to become official: In Democratic primaries, voters selected delegates to vote for the candidate of their choice at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In order to become the Democratic Party’s official candidate for president, Harris must win the support of 1,976 delegates. As of Monday afternoon, more than 1,000 delegates had publicly announced or told AP that they plan to support Harris.
The Democratic National Convention runs August 19-22. Democratic National Convention Chair Minyon Moore said in a statement that the change at the top of the ticket hasn’t altered convention planning.
“Here in Chicago, our mission remains the same. During the convention, we will have an opportunity to show the country and the world who Democrats are and what we stand for,” Moore said. “Over the past year, we have been building the stage – literally and figuratively – for President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats to tell our story to the American people. The historic progress Democrats achieved under the Biden-Harris Administration will still be central to that story, as will the story of what is at stake in this election.”