Kamala Harris’ campaign raised $81 million in 24 hours after Biden dropped out

Washington — Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign raked in $81 million in the 24 hours after President Biden ended his bid for reelection and Harris announced she would be seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, her campaign said Monday.

The eye-popping haul includes money raised across Harris’ campaign, the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees, and underscores the vice president’s enormous financial advantage over any potential challengers for the Democratic nomination. It is the largest amount of money raised in a 24-hour span in presidential history, according to Team Harris. 

The campaign said that more than 888,000 grassroots donors made contributions in the past 24 hours, and for 60% of them, it was their first contribution of the 2024 election cycle. A call hosted by the group “Win with Black Women” brought in $1.6 million alone, Team Harris said.

“The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections,” said Kevin Munoz, spokesperson for Harris’ campaign. “Already, we are seeing a broad and diverse coalition come together to support our critical work of talking to the voters that will decide this election.”

Munoz said there is a “groundswell” of support for Harris.

The vice president officially launched her presidential campaign on Sunday, hours after Mr. Biden announced he would be exiting the 2024 presidential race. The president quickly endorsed Harris for the Democratic presidential nominee and a slew of other high-profile Democrats swiftly announced their backing for the vice president. The Biden campaign quickly filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission renaming itself “Harris for President.”

Among those who have thrown their support behind Harris are rising stars in the party who were considered possible successors to Mr. Biden, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The president’s withdrawal from the campaign came after dozens of Democrats urged him to step aside in the wake of his disastrous debate performance in late June. His showing in the face-off with Trump raised concerns about his fitness for a second term in office and whether he could defeat the Republican presidential nominee in November.