Since the sudden announcement from President Joe Biden that he would be dropping out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris has seen an outpouring of financial support.
According to the Harris campaign, the presidential hopeful has already raised tens of millions in grassroots donations since Biden endorsed her.
Grass Roots Support
Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, reported the impressive donation total in a statement.
“Since the President endorsed Vice President Harris yesterday afternoon, everyday Americans have given $49.6 million in grassroots donations to her campaign,” said Hitt.
It Keeps Going
Since the statement from Hitt, the total donations have increased to nearly $64 million in the 12 hours since Biden’s announcement.
Democrats are claiming that the final total for Harris’ donations may exceed $90 million by the time the 24-hour mark hits.
Trump’s Record
Previously, Donald Trump had set a Republican fundraising record back in May following a New York Court’s decision to find him guilty of multiple felony counts.
In the 24 hours following the reading of the trial verdict, the former president managed to receive over $53 million in donations, according to the Trump campaign.
Beating Trump
If the donation projections pan out, this would place the donations to Harris well over what Trump received just a few months ago.
The Harris campaign is counting donations raised across “all entities, including ActBlue.”
Pressure on Biden
Following a disappointing debate performance against former President Donald Trump, Biden had been receiving mounting pressure to drop out of the race over concerns about his age and mental acuity.
However, Biden’s sudden drop-out still came as a surprise because he had been defiant about his ability to stay in the race right up until that moment.
Uncertainty Around Biden’s Health
Democrat donors and top Democrat politicians have been making public and private pushes on Biden to get him to drop out over these health concerns.
Biden recently tested positive for COVID and has not been seen in several days, announcing his bowing out through a letter published to X.
Endorsing Kamala
Biden in his letter complimented Kamala Harris but ultimately stopped short of fully endorsing her for president. A later X post from his personal account that came a short time afterward came out with a full endorsement.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” said the X post.
Uncertainty Around Campaign Funds
This large influx of cash to the Harris campaign comes amid questions of whether previous donations to candidate Joe Biden might need to be refunded.
Experts say that if a candidate for a campaign changes, donors might be entitled to get their donations refunded. However, since Harris was already on the ticket, it’s possible that the millions the Biden campaign already raised could be funneled into her campaign.
Funding Rules
Federal election rules set in place by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) are strict, which is why Harris may be the only option for Democrats hoping to keep the Biden war chest intact.
“Most presidential campaigns collect a contribution from donors in double the amount of the federal limit and allocate half to the primary election and half to the general election. Biden did that, and it was legal even though he really had no primary opposition. That means he and Harris have a large chunk of money that is only available to be spent in the general election,” said election lawyer Trey Trainor.
Possible Refunds
According to Trainor, if Harris isn’t the nominee, millions of dollars of donations sent by Biden campaign contributors might have to be sent back.
“If Biden drops out and Harris isn’t the nominee, then there will have to be massive refunds of contributions to donors to the Biden campaign,” said Trainor.
Options for Financing
According to Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform at the Campaign Legal Center, there is a $2,000 limit on money transfers between federal campaign committees in election cycles.
“Biden’s campaign would have to offer to refund the money to donors, who could then contribute to the new candidate’s campaign,” or “transfer an unlimited amount to the DNC, which could then spend the money supporting the new presidential nominee, and up to $32.3 million of that spending could be coordinated with the new nominee,” said Ghosh.
