According to her campaign, which released a statement on Friday, US Vice-President Kamala Harris set a new fundraising record in July with $310 million. That's more than double the $139 million Trump's campaign raised during the same period.
It was to be a very dramatic month for American politics, one that started with the attempt on Trump's life and his eventual official nomination as the Republican candidate for Presidency. Then, President Joe Biden closed the re-election campaign by picking Harris as his successor.
This month was the first time Harris appeared as the Democratic Party's top presidential candidate. Her campaign reported some fundraising success, as $200 million of the July total came in during the week following Biden's endorsement.
Harris has raised $1 billion for her campaign—more quickly than any other presidential candidate in history to hit that mark. On top of that, she has the largest cash reserves ever held at this point during a presidential race, with $377 million ready for deployment.
In contrast, the Trump campaign boasted $139 million in fundraising in July, an enormous amount from any perspective. It was a life-altering month for Trump: the assassination attempt earned him sympathy nationwide, and the convention wrapped up his presidential nomination, usually boosting his popularity.
Neither campaign disclosed how much money came specifically from the Republican National Committee, Democratic National Committee, or other affiliates.
Fundraising figures are tracked as an indicator of campaign strength. Even before Biden dropped out on July 21, donations had slowed as his debate performance was called into question. His exit proved a godsend to the Harris campaign, with two-thirds of the $310 million coming from new donors.
This is a historic fundraising milestone for a candidate who is going to make history this November," Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in an email from Harris' campaign manager. "The outpouring of support we have received makes one thing clear: the Harris coalition is fired up, growing, and ready to get to work to defeat Trump.
If victorious, Harris would have been the first woman, Black, Asian American, and India-born American to hold the presidency. Her rise to the top of the Democratic ticket dramatically altered the nature of the presidential race, which had been trending toward Trump. Harris has since pulled considerably and now stands only 1.2 percentage points behind Trump in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, 46.5% for Harris to 47.7% for Trump.
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