Kamala Harris has garnered support from the Democratic party’s most influential donors, bolstering her position as the front-runner for the party’s selection after Joe Biden confirmed he would not be running for president. Biden’s announcement was made in the face of mounting pressure from party leaders and benefactors who affirmed their support for Harris, according to insiders acquainted with Senate leader Chuck Schumer, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, and past House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Endorsements for Harris came from a host of influential figures, including Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois governor JB Pritzker, and Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, all of whom are potential vice-presidential candidates. Harris also received significant backing from Pelosi. A swathe of influential donors, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, George and Alex Soros, as well as Wall Street benefactors, publicly backed Harris shortly after Biden’s announcement.
Hoffman, who had previously donated over €7.8 million ($8.6 million) to the Biden-Harris campaign, expressed his confidence in Harris, calling her the “the right person at the right time”. Wall Street fundraiser Brad Karp and chair of the New York-based legal corporation Paul Weiss, also pledged their support for Harris, citing her as a “a dynamic and decisive leader”.
Biden’s departure from the 2024 presidential race came after sustained lobbying from his party over concerns regarding his age. He threw his support behind Harris shortly after his announcement. The political shift led to some decreases in the value of the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields as investors adapted to the prospect of a potential Democratic victory in November.
California governor Gavin Newsom also voiced his support for Harris, reinforcing her bid for the Democratic party selection. Harris had begun exploring potential running partners, with Beshear and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro considered potential candidates. This nomination would be formally determined at the Democratic National Convention in August.
In a recent post on social media network X, Mr Shapiro stated his endorsement for @KamalaHarris, pledging to fully support Harris’s run for the position as America’s 47th president. Boston-based property magnate, George Krupp, who previously organised a fundraiser for ex-President Biden, stated that Harris was the clear favourite when compared to Shapiro, Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Beshear potentially taking the Vice Presidency role. He hailed Biden’s step-down as a respect-worthy act.
In the second quarter of the year, the funds raised by former president Donald Trump surprisingly surpassed those garnered by Biden’s team, with this week’s numbers indicating Trump-affiliated fundraisers raking in nearly $100 million more than Biden allies between April and June. To add to Biden’s financial woes, predictions for July fundraising don’t indicate improvement.
However, upon announcing her campaign on Sunday, Harris managed to pull in an impressive $46.7 million within seven hours, which, according to the fundraising website ActBlue, has set a new record in the 2024 Biden-Harris campaign for fundraising within a single day. In the event that other Democratic hopefuls throw their hats in the ring, Harris stands to benefit financially as the existing member of the Biden-Harris campaign with access to its hefty $96 million campaign funds.
Securing high-profile endorsements from the Clintons and the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses, the chances of another mainstream Democrat challenging Harris appear slim, voiced a prominent fundraiser from the Democratic Party based on the west coast. Interestingly, former president Barack Obama did not acknowledge Harris in his comment on Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race.
Prominent financier Roger Altman, founder of Evercore investment bank, voiced his opinion that Harris was the optimal choice for the Democrats. Mr Altman praised Biden’s difficult decision as brave and beneficial to the future of American democracy and the upholding of the rule of law.
Clayton Cox, previous finance director for the Democratic Party, chimed in stating: “Harris has what it takes politically and possesses the aptitude and the foundation to amass copious amounts of funds, preparing the Democrats for a November victory. The movement around Vice President Harris is set to see a significant surge in donations at every level.”
Mark Cortale, a producer on Broadway, who also jointly presided over a fundraising event in Provincetown, Massachusetts, over the weekend, where the vice-president was the guest of honour, shared that Mr Biden’s debate against Mr Trump on CNN the past month felt like a “nightmare.” However, he admits a sense of hope has returned to him recently. Furthermore, Mr Cortale expressed his belief that the time is now for Kamala Harris to make history by becoming the first woman president of the United States. He strongly trusts in her capability to fulfil this role and feels greatly exhilarated by it. This information is credited to The Financial Times Limited, 2024.