Harris clinches Democratic support, raises $81M

What happened

Vice President Kamala Harris secured the verbal support of enough Democratic National Convention delegates on Monday to clinch the party's presidential nomination. President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed her as his replacement on Sunday, and Democrats from across the ideological spectrum and levels of government expeditiously threw her their support. The newly rebranded Harris campaign said it raised $81 million from 880,000 donors in the first 24 hours — which would be a single-day presidential fund-raising record — and signed up 28,000 new volunteers.

Who said what

With backing from party leaders, rank-and-file Democrats and "virtually every major would-be rival for the nomination," Harris has enjoyed "a remarkable closing of ranks," Aaron Blake said at The Washington Post, especially since there's "scant hard evidence that Democrats are much better off" with her over Biden.

Harris traveled to Wilmington, Delaware, Monday afternoon to take charge of what had been Biden's reelection headquarters. She said she was keeping Biden's campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, and "quickly leaned into the themes that will be prominent" in her truncated campaign, The Associated Press said, including economic opportunity, abortion rights and Donald Trump's legal troubles.

As California's attorney general and a "courtroom prosecutor" before that, "I took on perpetrators of all kinds," Harris said. "Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump's type." Biden, calling in, said stepping aside "was the right thing to do" and he will be "working like hell" to get Harris elected.

What next?

The Harris campaign tapped former Attorney General Eric Holder to vet potential running mates. Harris will hold her first full-fledged campaign event as presidential candidate in Milwaukee on Tuesday.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up