Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (2024)

Weeks of pent-up Democratic panic gave way to a historic flood of campaign cash for likely presidential nominee Vice President Harris this week, as allied groups reported massive fundraising hauls amid donor elation.

The coordinated Harris campaign reported Wednesday morning that they had raised more than $126 million from 1.4 million donors between Sunday afternoon, when President Biden announced he was stepping aside, and Tuesday evening. FF PAC, also known as Future Forward, the largest outside group supporting Biden, announced $150 million in commitments in the first 24 hours after Biden’s Sunday afternoon announcement.

Some funds had been withheld during the weeks of concern over Biden’s path to victory after his stumbling, confused performance at a June 27 debate prompted calls to drop out. But major donors and fundraisers reported a newfound energy, both in donations to political groups that report the contributions and to nonprofits that do not, which are funding much of the organizing effort in key states that will benefit the Democratic candidacy.

Advertisement

Skip to end of carousel

2024 presidential election

Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (1)Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (2)

President Biden addressed the nation Wednesday from the Oval Office on his decision to exit the presidential race and endorse Vice President Harris as the Democratic nominee.

Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (3)Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (4)

Donald Trump is officially the Republican presidential nominee and chose Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate. Harris is the likely Democratic nominee after a majority of delegates have pledged to support her. We broke down seven options for her vice-presidential pick.

Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (5)Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (6)

Here’s what happened in the hours before Biden posted a letter announcing his decision to end his campaign. This is how Democrats can pick a new candidate and the top nine options to replace Biden.

Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (7)Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (8)

Here are some of the key dates ahead of the general election in November.

Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (9)Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (10)

Sign up for The Campaign Moment, reporter Aaron Blake’s guide to what you really need to know about the 2024 election.

1/5

End of carousel

“It really feels like a moment in history that we are going to talk about 10 years or decades from now. It is something we have not seen for a long time,” said Ning Mosberger-Tang, a major donor and former executive at Google, who announced plans to host a fundraiser for Harris in the coming weeks. “A lot of people including myself, we were paralyzed in the last few weeks. A lot of us were not giving money to anything. Now we are seeing the floodgates have opened.”

Dmitri Mehlhorn, a donor adviser and Democratic strategist, agreed that the flood of energy was directly related to the pent-up agony of the previous weeks.

“The financial situation is optimized for Democrats because the pressure campaign against Biden created a huge amount of tension that could have broken the Dem campaign organizations,” Mehlhorn said. “But it didn’t break. It snapped back like a bolt or catapult. Joe’s sacrifice has put people in the mode of sacrifice.”

Even those donors who had previously called for an open and competitive process to replace Biden have become resigned to the reality that Harris faces no major challenge for the job. Media mogul Mike Bloomberg, one of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors, released a statement Monday morning calling on the party to take its time to settle on a candidate, saying the “decision is too important to rush.”

Advertisement

But within hours, it became clear that Harris was destined to have the support of a majority of delegates to the Democratic convention, who will vote in the coming weeks on the next nominee.

“It’s a done deal,” said John Morgan, a trial lawyer and major Biden donor, who had previously voiced his opposition to Harris leading the ticket. He said he was not sure that Harris could beat former president Trump, would not be donating to her and was not sure if he would vote in November, but if he did he would probably vote for her. He also observed that the amount of money flooding into Democratic coffers at this point made his decision to withhold cash inconsequential.

“Whatever money I have would be like pouring coffee in a full coffee cup,” he said. “So it is what it is. Now we just hold our breath.”

Advertisement

The boom in Democratic giving also follows a flood of announcements by major Silicon Valley donors that they were going to spend big to back Trump as Biden struggled to allay concerns about his health. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen announced his support for Trump by saying Biden hadn’t made a big enough effort to build a relationship with the tech industry.

That criticism doesn’t apply to Harris at all, said Chris Kelly, a former Facebook chief privacy officer who ran against Harris for California attorney general in 2010 and is now a co-owner of the Sacramento Kings NBA team. He supports Harris’s run for president and plans to donate to her campaign. She is from the Bay Area and has a long history of interacting with and working with the tech industry, he said Tuesday. That makes people in Silicon Valley a lot more comfortable, Kelly said.

“Kamala Harris will have an open door and a willingness to reconsider some of the mistakes of this administration,” he said.

Advertisement

Parts of Harris’s old donor network — which has operated for years largely as a subset of Biden’s machine — held a donor call Monday that included multiple people from her 2020 presidential campaign’s finance committee.

“My sense is the donor community is so ready to get this done. We are so stoked and relieved,” said Susie Tompkins Buell, a major donor in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“I haven’t spoken to anyone who feels otherwise,” she added. “Women are on fire.”

Way to Win, a Democratic donor network devoted to winning the House, Senate and White House this year, also reported a boost in enthusiasm, hinging in part on the expectation that Democrats once again could have a path to winning the more southern battlegrounds of Nevada, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina.

“We got people coming in who had not committed for this cycle. And people who have committed, committing more,” said Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, a co-founder of the group. “A lot of people were saying the Sun Belt states were out of play. The Sun Belt is absolutely in play.”

Biden has canceled campaign events he had scheduled for the coming weeks, though campaign officials say some may be rescheduled. Fundraisers that first lady Jill Biden planned to headline will now be hosted by Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman. The Harris campaign also reported a massive increase in volunteer sign-ups, with 58,000 people in the first 48 hours, a sign-up rate that is 232 times larger than the Biden campaign’s daily average.

Advertisement

ActBlue, the Democratic-leaning processing agent for most Harris campaign donations, reported raising almost $47 million in seven hours after Biden’s announcement Sunday. The ticker on the company’s website recorded about $67 million in donations on both Sunday and Monday for all candidates and causes. Those totals are slightly below the record set on the site — $70.6 million on Sept. 19, 2020, the day after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.

A windfall of more than a quarter of a billion dollars over two days is enormous by almost any historical measure, though it is hard to compare directly with past elections because of changes to campaign finance law, federal limits and inflation. The $126 million coordinated campaign haul over more than two days compares favorably with the $85 million that the Biden campaign reported raising over the entire month of May and is similar to the $53 million that the Trump campaign reported raising in the 24 hours after his felony conviction in New York. A smaller 2000 predecessor to FF PAC, called Future Forward USA Action, raised $142 million in that entire cycle, according to OpenSecrets, a group that tracks money in politics.

Looked at another way, the 1.4 million contributors account for 1.7 percent of the 81.3 million people who voted for Biden in the general election in 2020. The campaign reported that most of the donations came from new donors to the campaign this election cycle, suggesting an expanded base of potential return donors over the next 103 days.

Advertisement

One campaign adviser reported that even donors who had long been private detractors of Harris were opening their wallets to make significant contributions. The crushing sadness and fear of the last three weeks had been replaced by a frenzy of enthusiasm.

“It’s intense. It’s bonkers. It’s everybody,” said the adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss campaign fundraising. “This is why I love American politics. Just the adrenaline, the ups and downs. This has been the most intense roller coaster I’ve ever been on.”

Tyler Pager contributed to this report.

Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups (2024)

FAQs

How much money has Kamala raised in 24 hours? ›

Within 36 hours of Biden's announcement on July 21, Harris raised more than $100 million, according to her campaign, including $81 million in the first 24 hours.

How much is Kamala Harris raised? ›

Kamala Harris' campaign says it raised more than $100 million since launching after Biden dropped out - CBS News.

What is Kamala Harris' campaign? ›

Harris is campaigning on reproductive rights, Trump's legal history, and against the economic policies included in Project 2025, a blueprint for a Trump presidency put together by former Trump advisors, which Harris said would threaten the middle class. Trump has distanced himself from the proposal.

How many times has Kamala Harris been acting president? ›

To date, three vice presidents—George H. W. Bush (once), Dick Cheney (twice), and Kamala Harris (once)—have served as acting president.

How long has Kamala Harris been president of the Senate? ›

Since 2021, she has been the 49th vice president of the United States under President Joe Biden. She is the first female ever in U.S. history elected to this office. Before becoming vice president, she was a United States senator from California from 2017 until 2021.

Who is the DNC chair? ›

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison weighs in on Harris VP speculation - CBS News.

How much money has Kamala Harris's campaign raised? ›

Kamala Harris smashes fundraising record with stunning $81 million haul over 24 hours. Democrats are quickly rallying around Vice President Kamala Harris as their likely presidential nominee after President Joe Biden's ground-shaking decision to bow out of the 2024 race.

What degrees did Kamala Harris earn? ›

Harris graduated in 1986 with a degree in political science and economics. Harris then returned to California to attend the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (now University of California College of the Law, San Francisco) through its Legal Education Opportunity Program (LEOP).

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Kimberely Baumbach CPA

Last Updated:

Views: 5427

Rating: 4 / 5 (61 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Kimberely Baumbach CPA

Birthday: 1996-01-14

Address: 8381 Boyce Course, Imeldachester, ND 74681

Phone: +3571286597580

Job: Product Banking Analyst

Hobby: Cosplaying, Inline skating, Amateur radio, Baton twirling, Mountaineering, Flying, Archery

Introduction: My name is Kimberely Baumbach CPA, I am a gorgeous, bright, charming, encouraging, zealous, lively, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.