WASHINGTON — Deputy Director Kamala Harris ‘ campaign announced Friday that it had raised $310 million last month, a staggering sum that shows that donors who initially seemed fearful about the prospects of a November election with President Joe Biden are now offering mountains of money to strengthen his former number 2.
The proceeds from Harris, the Democratic National Committee and affiliated entities far exceeded those of former Republican President Donald Trump, whose campaign and various committees said they took in $138.7 million in July.
The vice president’s campaign also said it entered August with $377 million in cash on hand, which it described as the most for a presidential candidate at this point in the cycle. It was also well above the $327 million Trump’s team said it had to start the month.
“The outpouring of support we’ve seen in a short period of time makes it clear that the Harris coalition is mobilized, growing, and ready to do the work to defeat Trump in November,” Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. “Our money goes to the work that wins close elections.”
Trump’s July totals were further boosted by an assassination attempt on the former president at a rally in Pennsylvania that mobilized some of his most ardent supporters, and by his subsequent unveiling of his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, at the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, Harris’ team is hoping for a new surge early next week, when they are expected to… announce her own running mateand during the Democratic convention, which begins in Chicago on August 19.
The numbers released this week by both campaigns do not include full filings from the Federal Elections Commission, which are due later this month. That makes it difficult to determine how much of Harris’ haul came after Biden announced on July 21 that he was give up his re-election bid and support Harris.
That decision followed weeks in which several top Democratic donors, as well as dozens of members of Congress, urged the 81-year-old president to resign after his dismal debate performance on June 27th.
However, Harris’ team had previously announced that the raised over $200 million during her first week as a presidential candidate, meaning the lion’s share of July’s strong haul came after the vice president took over the top of the ticket. She wants to restart the race against Trump by her travel schedule and sharply criticize the Republican candidate, while increasingly tending to tell her personal and professional story.
The vice president is expected to become her party’s formal presidential candidate through virtual voting by Democratic Party delegates, which will conclude on Monday.
Her campaign said two-thirds of donations in July came from first-time donors in the 2024 election cycle. In total, more than 3 million donors made more than 4.2 million contributions in the month, with more than 2 million donors making their first donation this cycle, while 94% of donations in July were under $200.
The campaign reported that 60% of its donors in July were women, as Harris prepares to become the first woman of color nominated for president by a major political party.
Since the start of her presidential campaign, Harris’ fundraising has been bolstered by virtual fundraisers organized around supporters from diverse backgrounds, including Black Women for Harris, Latinas for Harris and even a White guests for HarrisTogether they raised more than $20 million, her campaign said.
Beyond the fundraising, Harris’ campaign said it recruited 170,000 new volunteers and held 2,300 events over the weekend to mobilize thousands of supporters in states where the election remains uncertain.