US Vice President Kamala Harris has raised nearly $47 million in donations for her presidential campaign in the seven hours since she was endorsed by Joe Biden as his successor for the November election.
According to the ActBlue platform, one of the main platforms that collects donations to the Democratic Party, these contributions come mostly from small donors who support Harris’ candidacy to be nominated as the candidate of that party to replace President Biden, who yesterday announced his withdrawal from the presidential race.
“As of 9:00 p.m. Sunday, grassroots supporters have raised $46.7 million through ActBlue following the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign,” ActBlue explained.
“This was the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle. Small donors are excited and ready to take on these elections,” the platform wrote on its X profile.
The surge in fundraising, which includes money for Kamala Harris’ campaign as well as other Democratic candidates and groups, reflects a Democratic enthusiasm that “we have not seen so far this cycle,” the platform said.
ActBlue previously stated that within the first five hours of Harris’ campaign, the platform had already raised more than $27.5 million through donations from small donors.
These initiatives have also been reflected in The New York Times, which says that small donors are quickly joining Harris.
And she cites an example: David Hogg, a gun control activist and survivor of the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, has launched a challenge to his followers on social media to quickly raise funds for the new presidential candidate.
Hogg said his appeal on Network X had managed to raise $200,000 in donations in just a matter of hours.
Biden’s decision not to seek re-election comes after weeks of Democrats urging the president to drop out of the race following a disastrous televised debate performance with former Republican President Donald Trump.
Biden and his campaign did not heed repeated calls from within his party to reconsider stepping aside from the presidential race until Sunday.
In the hours since Biden’s announcement, numerous Democrats have endorsed Harris as their likely candidate for the November election, and she has confirmed that she will run.
