Harris campaign raises record $81m in 24 hours

Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign raised more than $81 million in the 24-hour period following President Joe Biden's decision to step aside, the campaign said Monday.

Democratic Party donors have contributed a record amount to US Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign in the 24 hours since Joe Biden exited the presidential race and endorsed her, the campaign announced on Monday.

"Team Harris raised $81 million in its first 24 hours, adding to the existing near quarter-of-a-billion dollar war chest already amassed this election cycle," the statement read, calling it the "largest 24-hour raise in presidential history."

This fundraising feat represents the largest 24-hour sum raised by any candidate in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Read also: VP Harris secures delegates, campaigns in Wisconsin as presidential candidate

For context, former President Donald Trump reported raising over $50 million in the 24 hours following his felony conviction in the New York hush money trial. President Biden reported $38 million in the four days after a particularly challenging debate performance.

Harris’s new total includes donations from hundreds of thousands of first-time donors, according to the campaign.

Rusty Hicks, head of the California Democratic Party, is urging delegates to swiftly endorse Harris. He has circulated an online form to gather endorsements.

“I am asking delegates from our great state of California and home to our vice president, Kamala Harris, to officially endorse her nomination,” wrote Hicks, who also leads the nation’s largest delegation to the August convention.

(With input from AFP)