Harris campaign says it raised record USD 200 million in less than a week

WASHINGTON: Kamala Harris' campaign on Sunday announced that it has raised an unprecedented USD 200 million in less than a week after she entered the race for the White House, reflecting the groundswell of support in her favour.

The campaign also acknowledged that the November 5 election will be very close and decided by a small number of voters in just a few states.

Vice President Harris, 59, is now the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic party after incumbent President Joe Biden on July 20 announced that he was withdrawing from the race.

“Team Harris has raised USD 200 million since President Biden's endorsement last Sunday -- a record-shattering haul. Of that amount, 66 per cent came from first-time donors, further proof of the tremendous grassroots support for the Vice President,” said Harris for President Communications Director Michael Tyler.

Vice President Harris has been a candidate for less than a week, but she’s already coalesced the entire Democratic Party around her campaign and the organic, grassroots enthusiasm is producing results.

From record-breaking fundraising to unprecedented crowds and volunteers pouring into field offices across the battlegrounds, Team Harris is fired up to elect the Vice President and defeat the extremist Donald Trump-J D Vance ticket, he said.

At the same time, Tyler warned of a closed race.

“The momentum and energy for Vice President Harris is real – and so are the fundamentals of this race: this election will be very close and decided by a small number of voters in just a few states. That’s why our campaign is harnessing the energy across the country for a weekend of action to mark 100 days out from the election (today!),” Tyler said in a memorandum on Sunday morning.

Tyler said that the enthusiasm for Harris’ candidacy is uniting and growing the winning coalition -- with endorsements from young voters, voters of colour, labour, Barack and Michelle Obama, and countless more leaders and advocates.

The party is so united behind Vice President Harris’ candidacy that she earned enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee barely 24 hours after announcing her campaign. Just this weekend, dozens of surrogates are joining Team Harris on the campaign trail, he asserted.

“Since last Sunday, we’ve seen unprecedented grassroots support for the campaign across the country, with over 170,000 new volunteers joining Team Harris. We are not taking that excitement for granted – just this weekend, the campaign will mobilise thousands of grassroots supporters with more than 2,300 events in battleground states. We are also engaging supporters online and through traditional media, with the VP herself joining TikTok and gaining millions of followers since,” he said.

Harris will be formally announced presidential nominee in next month's Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.

Tyler said this week, hundreds of thousands of supporters came together via calls to support the Vice President, raising millions in the process -- including shows of support from coalitions of Black women and men, Latinas, white women, the LGBTQ community, and more.

Meanwhile, Trump, her Republican rival, is scrambling, Tyler said, adding that he’s scared to debate Harris.

“While the Harris coalition is unified and growing, Donald Trump is weighed down by his extensive vulnerabilities, for example, his Friday comments about ending elections in this country,” he said.