Biden raises $26M after picking Harris

WILMINGTON, DEL.— Joe Biden raised $26 million (U.S.) in the 24 hours after he named Kamala Harris as his running mate, doubling his previous one-day record and signalling enthusiasm among Democrats following the selection of the first Black woman on a major party’s presidential ticket.

The campaign hopes the haul is the beginning of a prolific fundraising push in the final stretch before Election Day. Democrats are close to matching, if not surpassing, the massive $300-million cash stockpile U.S. President Donald Trump and Republicans reported in July.

Harris is expected to play a key role in that effort. She joined Biden in Delaware on Wednesday for their first fundraiser together as running mates and talked to grassroots donors about how her parents’ activism inspired her interest in politics.

With large in-person events out of the question because of the pandemic, the campaign has an aggressive schedule of online fundraisers planned for Harris. That could play to one of her political strengths and offset an area where Biden has sometimes struggled.

Harris already has a robust network of donors in her native California, a state that has long been referred to as the ATM of the Democratic Party. She can rake in cash from Wall Street. And Harris, who is also of Asian descent, has the potential to bring new money into the Democratic fold because of the historic nature of her candidacy.

“To have someone on the ticket whose mother is from the south of India is a dream come true,” said Swadesh Chatterjee, a businessperson from North Carolina who also raises money for political candidates. “You will see more fundraising from the Indian-American community.”

Lisa Hernandez Gioia, who was a deputy finance director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, called Harris a “fundraiser’s dream.”

“Donors already have an eagerness,” she said. “She adds the star power that will be like an afternoon shot of espresso to the campaign’s fundraising.”