Kamala Harris breaks fundraising record

The US vice president has raised more than $80 million in 24 hours

US Vice President Kamala Harris has received $81 million in contributions in the first 24 hours since Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed her candidacy.

According to the campaign, it has received more than 888,000 contributions from “grassroots donors,” 60% of whom have donated for the first time during the 2024 election cycle.

“The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections,” campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said.

Separately, Future Forward – the largest Democratic political action committee in the US – told Politico magazine on Monday that it has received $150 million in new commitments from major donors in the last 24 hours.

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Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed Harris on Sunday, following weeks of calls from Democratic politicians, donors and journalists for him to leave the race due to growing concerns over his mental fitness and ability to defeat former President Donald Trump in November. Although Biden had repeatedly refused to abandon his reelection campaign, he eventually conceded, arguing that the move was “in the best interest of my party and the country.”

According to CNN, Harris has since been endorsed by more than 40 Democratic senators and nearly 100 House members, as well as several governors, including Gavin Newsom of California, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. The Democrats will finally decide on the nominee during their convention in August.

Last week, Republicans nominated Trump as their candidate for the president and J.D. Vance, a senator from Ohio, as his running mate. Trump survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13; the gunman’s bullet grazed his right ear. The FBI have said that they have not yet identified a clear motive; the shooter was neutralized during the altercation.