Kamala Harris raises $50 million for presidential bid

As President Joe Biden bowed out of the presidential race and formally endorsed Harris to be the party’s nominee, Democratic voters turned their enthusiasm into cash. By Sunday, 9 P.M. Eastern Time, party fundraisers had already collected $46.7 million in donations, according to Democratic political action committee ActBlue. 

“This might be the greatest fundraising moment in Democratic Party history,” wrote progressive political strategist Kenneth Pennington on X. 

ActBlue said Sunday was the largest fundraising day of the 2024 election cycle.

The windfall of donations, which ActBlue says are primarily from grassroots supporters, comes as Democratic voters rally behind a candidate they believe has a greater promise of defeating former President Donald Trump in November. ActBlue doesn’t give the money it raises exclusively to the Harris campaign, nor is donating to it the same as contributing directly to the campaign. However, it is nonetheless a useful bellwether to measure the level of excitement among Democratic voters and how that might affect the presidential race moving forward. 

The donations pouring in come as questions mount about whether the campaign will be able to keep the $96 million currently sitting in the Biden campaigns coffers. In the meantime, it seems as though Harris can rely on the steady stream of donations groups like ActBlue have collected since Sunday’s dramatic announcement. Current campaign finance laws allow a presidential and vice presidential nominee to run on a single ticket and therefore collectively make use of any money they get from donors. If Harris were indeed to secure the nomination she would likely have little issue in keeping the money. In that scenario, her election bid would be considered a continuation of the current Biden-Harris ticket. 

Though the Republican chair of the Federal Election Committee, Sean Cooksey, believes the situation is more “complicated,” according to The Hill. Given the unprecedented nature of the campaign, legal challenges are likely.  

The massive fundraising initiative can also help the burgeoning Harris campaign make up for any external PACs or donors who may have been loyal only to Biden. Super PACs raise money independently from campaigns and are prohibited from coordinating their spending with them. Still, they often raise huge sums, which they spend on things like organizing and political ads. So far, some of the largest pro-Biden super PACs, Future Forward, and American Bridge 21st Century, have raised $101.4 million and $33.3 million, respectively. Both organizations hold war chests the Harris campaign would be eager to tap into. At least one Democratic PAC has already announced it will back Harris. 

Harris will need to continue raising new money, however, as a few major Democratic donors have said they won’t donate to her new campaign. For example, John Morgan, a wealthy lawyer from Orlando, told The Hill he wouldn’t raise any additional funds for Harris because he believes she will lose in November. “You can keep my million and good luck,” he told The Hill. Another major Democratic donor, Stewart Bainum Jr., chair of the $1.5 billion Choice Hotels of the Radisson brand, is pausing all donations until the party’s convention in August, according to CNBC. Though Bainum Jr. isn’t swearing off donating further, but rather wants to see an open convention where other candidates could throw their hats in the ring. 

Still other big-dollar donors have already made it known they plan to contribute to Harris’ campaign from the get go. Billionaire Linkedin cofounder Reid Hoffman, who has already donated $10 million toward Biden’s reelection, endorsed Harris shortly after her campaign launched on Sunday.