Biden Campaign Raised $26 Million in 24 Hours After Picking Harris as VP

Biden Campaign Raised $26 Million in 24 Hours After Picking Harris as VP
Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden grabs his mask after introducing his vice presidential running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, during their first press conference together in Wilmington, Del., on Aug. 12, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)
Ivan Pentchoukov
8/12/2020
Updated:
8/12/2020

The campaign of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden raised $26 million in a day after announcing the selection of Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate.

Biden made the announcement during a grassroots fundraising event with Harris. The former vice president said that the donations included 150,000 first-time donors.

“It’s really palpable, the excitement,” Biden said.

While President Donald Trump maintains an overall lead in total fundraising, the $26 million is a major haul for Biden and signals enthusiasm for Harris. The Trump campaign record is $14 million, which was raised on the president’s birthday in June.

The grassroots fundraiser, which occurred after the 24-hour mark, brought in another $9.6 million, according to the Biden campaign. That total beat the record set during Biden’s fundraiser with former president Barack Obama.

Trump has so far raised $342 million compared Biden’s $278 million.

Biden leads Trump by more than 7 points in an average of national polls maintained by RealClearPolitics. The opponents are scheduled to take place in three debates before the election in November.

Nearly nine out of 10 Democrats approved of Harris as Biden’s pick, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.

During her first speech on the campaign trail, Harris repeatedly criticized Trump.

“This is a moment of real consequence for America,” she said. “Everything we care about—our economy, our health, our kids, the kind of country we live in—it’s all on the line.”

“America is crying out for leadership, yet we have a president who cares more about himself than the people who elected him, a president who is making every challenge we face even more difficult to solve.”

The speech, delivered in a Delaware high school gymnasium near Biden’s home, featured no cheering crowds. The two candidates wore masks as they arrived and kept their social distance on a stage flanked by state flags.

A day earlier, Trump said Harris was his top pick for Biden’s VP. He said he was nevertheless surprised at the choice because of Harris’s lackluster performance in the Democratic primaries.

The joint appearance came just days before Biden will formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination at next week’s party convention, which will take place largely as a virtual event due to COVID-19.

The Republican convention, where Trump is set to be nominated to seek a second four-year term, follows a week later and kicks off a 10-week sprint to Election Day on Nov. 3.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Ivan is the national editor of The Epoch Times. He has reported for The Epoch Times on a variety of topics since 2011.
twitter
facebook
Related Topics