A record $81 million and support from delegates: Kamala Harris is fast approaching the candidacy
23 July 2024 10:16
US Vice President Kamala Harris is confidently heading for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential election. She has already attracted unprecedented financial and political support, reports "Komersant Ukrainian"
After incumbent President Joe Biden’s surprise exit from the race and his announcement of support for Harris’ candidacy, her campaign set a new fundraising record. In the first 24 hours after Biden’s announcement, the Harris team raised a staggering amount of more than $81 million. This is the largest amount collected in one day in the history of US presidential campaigns.
That amount includes money raised directly by the Harris campaign, the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees, according to campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz.
“Vice President Harris’ historic outpouring of support represents the kind of energy and enthusiasm that wins elections.”
– said Muñoz.
In parallel with the financial success, Harris gained significant support among the delegates of the Democratic Party. According to CNN, the vice president has already secured the support of more than 1,976 delegates, which is the minimum necessary to receive the party’s nomination.
CNN notes that their assessment is based on public statements of support from delegates and state delegations, reports and conversations with delegates. At the same time, support from state delegations is counted as unanimous support for Harris, if there is no other information.
According to a plan presented by Democratic Party officials, delegates are expected to vote to confirm Harris as the presidential nominee by August 7. That puts Harris in a dominant position to secure the official Democratic nomination for president at next month’s national convention, if not sooner.
The Associated Press notes that the massive financial support ensures that Harris and her allies can compete with Donald Trump, who has also raised significant sums in recent weeks as he battles to return to the White House despite numerous lawsuits and legal problems.
If Kamala Harris receives the nomination, she will become the first “woman of color” nominated for the position of president by one of the two major parties in the United States. This is also a nuance that can be “sold” to a certain type of voter.
What preceded
On July 17, US President Joe Biden was diagnosed with the coronavirus, immediately after he announced that he might withdraw from the race due to the illness.
This happened against the background of very active conversations about the fact that Biden is not ready for the next presidency due to the state of his own health, primarily mental. They stepped up after Biden’s debate with Trump, in which the incumbent looked very out of sorts in that context.
As reported, according to the AP-NORC poll, nearly two-thirds of Democrats believed that US President Joe Biden should withdraw from the presidential election and allow his party to nominate another candidate.
Donors to the election campaign of US President Joe Biden announced the suspension of about 90 million dollars of their donations.
European allies of the United States were also concerned about the condition and age of President Joe Biden and doubted his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump.
Under such pressure, Biden decided to withdraw from the race and called on the Democrats to nominate the current Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, instead.Zelensky called it a “tough but strong decision.”
