Election 2024 Latest: Harris raised $310M in July, new poll finds few Americans trust Secret Service
Deputy Director Kamala Harris ‘ campaign announced on Friday that the raised $310 million last montha staggering amount that shows that donors who once seemed fearful of the prospects of Elections in November with the president Joe Biden are now offering mountains of money to strengthen his former number 2.
The haul for Harris, the Democratic National Committee and affiliated entities surpassed that of the former Republican president Donald Trumpwhich the campaign and various committees said had raised $138.7 million as of July.
Meanwhile, most Americans doubt the Secret Service’s ability to keep presidential candidates safe after last month’s attempt on Trump’s life, a new poll From the findings of the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Follow AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
Here’s the latest news:
Kyle Rittenhouse, who was embraced by Trump after he shot three men during a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin in 2020, won’t return the favor with his vote this fall.
The 21-year-old, who was acquitted of all charges in the Kenosha shooting case, said he plans to nominate a Libertarian candidate instead: former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul.
“Unfortunately, Donald Trump had bad advisers who made him bad on the Second Amendment, and that’s my problem,” Rittenhouse said in a video posted on the social media platform X. “If you can’t be completely uncompromising on the Second Amendment, I won’t vote for you and I’ll write someone else in.”
Some pro-Trump influencers online expressed disgust at Rittenhouse, saying he owed Trump more for defending him after the shooting.
Rittenhouse killed two men and wounded a third during the protest. He argued in court that he opened fire in self-defense after the men attacked him. The case became a bone of contention in the debate over guns, vigilantes and racial injustice in the U.S.
Trump defended Rittenhouse at the time of the shooting and congratulated him after the verdict, saying, “If that isn’t self-defense, nothing is.”
Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles appears to have entered the 2024 US political arena, with a message that seems to be hitting back Donald Trumps commentary about “black jobs.”
“I love my black job,” Biles posted on social media platform X on Friday, responding to a post from singer Ricky Davila, who had said, “Iconic pic of the GOAT mastering her black job and collecting gold medals.”
The exchange took place hours after Biles withdrew Rebeca Andrade from Brazil to win the all-round Paris Olympic Games Gymnastics Finaltaking her home ninth gold medal.
Trump has been criticized for initially arguing during his debate with President Joe Biden last month that migrants took “black jobs” and “Hispanic Jobs” from Americans, angering critics who called it a racist and offensive attempt to broaden his appeal beyond his white conservative base.
When asked by moderators what a “black job” entailed, Trump told attendees at the National Association of Black Journalists conference this week that “a black job is anyone who has a job,” prompting groans from the audience.
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Biles’ post. Her representatives also did not immediately respond to requests for further comment on her post or her thoughts on the 2024 U.S. presidential election in general.
Abraham Hamadeh has defeated Blake Masters in the Republican primary for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, who received a rare double endorsement from former President Donald Trump. Hamadeh has a good chance of winning the seat in November because the northwestern Phoenix district is conservative.
Elsewhere, a critic of Arizona’s 2020 and 2022 voting operations defeated an incumbent Maricopa County election official in a GOP primary. And a Republican candidate vulnerable over abortion policies secured her party’s nomination in a state legislative race. In the U.S. Senate race, Kari Lake secured the GOP nomination for an open seat. The primaries in two congressional races are still too early to predict.
Tennessee Rep. Gloria Johnson has won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and will face Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn in November, pitting a survivor of a Republican-led deportation attempt over gun control protests against a close ally of former President Donald Trump.
Johnson defeated three primary opponents, including Marquita Bradshaw, a community activist and organizer from Memphis who won the Democratic nomination for Senate in 2020 before losing by a wide margin to Republican Bill Hagerty. The Tennessee primary will also determine whether Republican Rep. Andy Ogles can defeat a well-funded opponent, Nashville Councilwoman Courtney Johnston, as he seeks a second term in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.