Last month, Vice President Kamala Harris was in Chicago, where she served as the keynote speaker at a national conference for Latino leaders, but more importantly, Harris was in the Windy City for the Gold Coast fundraiser, which was attended by about 100 people, including Mayor Brandon Johnson, Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi and former education secretary Arne Duncan.
Harris had kicked off the fundraising for the Democrats’ 2024 re-election campaign in the swing state of Georgia, where she headlined the Peach State’s “Spring Soiree” – a gathering that that was expected to have hundreds in attendance – while she also attended a private fundraiser hosted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Even as President Joe Biden remains the nation’s command-in-chief, VP Harris has become the DNC’s “fundraiser-in-chief,” as she has helped raise millions for the 2024 campaign. She brought in $1.25 million at just one LGBTQ gala in New York City, which Politico.com reported was more money than it had during any previous year in its decades-long history.
Kamala Harris Can Raise Money
Kamala Harris has proven quite good at getting big-money donors to open their wallets. That is likely welcome news as Biden had never been a strong fundraiser – an issue that even plagued his first two White House runs.
That certainly turned around in 2020 and is more true today as Harris is taking charge.
“She has been a superstar for us. She is willing to go anywhere,” Chris Korge, finance chair of the Biden Victory Fund, told Politico.com. “I cannot tell you how many donors, because that’s who I deal with, have told me after they see her in action … ‘She is really good.’ They literally give her superstar status. So whoever talked to you probably has not been to an event with her.”
Yet, by some other accounts, there has been speculation that she is still not enough of a draw. There have also been complaints that there has been little follow-up after the events. More ominously, within the fundraising circles, there is even speculation about whether Biden should replace Harris on the ticket – including that she be nominated to the next Supreme Court vacancy to open up the VEEP slot.
Everyone Knows But No One Is Talking
Kamala Harris has become a major problem for the administration. The big donors are happy to give her money for the campaign but would like to see that she’s not on the ticket it seems.
At the same time, it is simply impossible to replace Harris.
“When I talk to ’em, when I’m around people, everybody knows the problem, and everybody knows there’s no solution to the problem,” attorney John Morgan, a Biden bundler and major Democratic contributor, told Politico.com. “She’s not going anywhere. If you try to move her out, you’re gonna have the K Hive come at you with everything they have.”
Biden’s ‘Blockbuster’ Three-Month Fundraising
Last month, the Biden campaign and the DNC announced they had raised more than $72 million for the president’s reelection in the 10 weeks since he announced his 2024 candidacy.
By comparison, President Barack Obama raised $85.6 million during the April-to-June quarter in 2011 when he launched his campaign for a second term, though he announced his candidacy three weeks earlier than April than Biden, PBS News Hour reported.
However, where the Biden campaign has struggled is with small-dollar donors, which had helped Biden defeat Trump in 2020, and more importantly, helped the Democrats maintain a majority in the Senate during the 2022 midterm elections. So far they have not opened their wallets to aid the DNC or Biden again.
According to the Federal Election Commission, the Biden Victory Fund – the joint fund-raising group – raised just $10.2 million from small donors, those who gave $200 or less, over the three-month fund-raising period that ended on June 30. Harris has proven to be a “rockstar” with large donors, but so far, she isn’t helping with the small-dollar donors.
Given that she and Biden each remains wildly unpopular that is unlikely to change.
Author Experience and Expertise
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
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