Vice President Kamala Harris campaign says it has now raised $540 million for its election fight against the Republican candidate former president donald trump.
The campaign has had no trouble getting supporters to open their wallets since President Joe Biden announced on July 21 that he would end his campaign and quickly endorse Harris. The campaign said it saw a surge in donations during last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Harris and her vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walzaccepted their nominations.
“Just prior to Vice President Harris’ acceptance speech Thursday night, we officially passed the $500 million mark,” campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon wrote in a memo released by the campaign on Sunday. “Immediately following her speech, we saw our single largest fundraising hour since launch day.”
Trump has also proven to be a great fundraiser, but appears to have been overtaken in her campaign from a month ago. Trumps campaign and its affiliates announced earlier this month that they raised $138.7 million in July — less than what Haris took during her White House bid’s opening week. Trump’s campaign reported $327 million in cash on hand in early August.
Harris’ fundraising efforts were raised through Harris for President, the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees.
O’Malley Dillon said nearly a third of the contributions during convention week came from first-time contributors. About a fifth of those first-time contributors were young voters and two-thirds were women, groups the campaign sees as critical constituencies Harris must turn out to win in November.
Harris’ campaign says it has also seen an increase in volunteer support for the vice president. During convention week, supporters signed up for nearly 200,000 volunteer shifts to help the campaign.