Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris has raised more than $540 million since she launched her presidential campaign in late July, powered by a wave of new Democratic enthusiasm after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
Now, she's sending some of it to other Democratic campaigns.
The Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee plan to send $25 million to a series of down-ballot Democratic campaign committees. The Washington Post first reported the news.
The bulk of that sum, the largest ever transferred during a presidential cycle, will go toward House and Senate Democrats' campaign arms. While the presidential race remains the most important this November, control of Congress will also be crucial for the party — whether that means having a trifecta to enact Democratic priorities or maintaining control of the House or Senate to blunt the impact of a second Donald Trump administration.
"If we want a future where every Americans' rights are protected, not taken away; where the middle class is strengthened, not hollowed out; and a country where our democracy is preserved, not ripped apart, every race this November matters," Harris campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said in a statement.
Here's the full breakdown of where the $25 million will go:
Democrats have been relatively confident in their ability to retake the House, given that the GOP's slim majority relies on Republicans who represent districts that Biden won in 2020.
They face a much more difficult battle in the Senate, where they currently hold a 51-49 majority. With Sen. Joe Manchin's retirement in deep-red West Virginia, Republicans are all but guaranteed to gain at least one seat.
In order to maintain their Senate majority, Democrats are relying in large part on Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana, both of whom represent states that Trump won twice.