Kamala Harris’s Fundraising Surge in July
Vice President Kamala Harris has demonstrated remarkable resilience in her campaign, bouncing back from a challenging fundraising period earlier in July. By the end of the month, her campaign announced an impressive fundraising total that more than doubled the amount raised by former President Donald J. Trump. The Harris campaign reported that it raised $310 million throughout July, with a staggering $200 million collected in a mere seven days following President Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race.
In contrast, the Trump campaign and its affiliates disclosed on Thursday that they had raised $139 million in July. While this figure is substantial, it falls significantly short of the Harris campaign’s robust fundraising, which nearly matches what the Biden campaign had gathered during the combined months of March, April, May, and June.
This surge in fundraising has given Democrats a cash-on-hand advantage over Republicans for the first time in several months. The Harris campaign now boasts a war chest of $377 million, compared to $327 million reported by the Trump campaign. However, it’s important to note that neither campaign has provided specific details on how much of the funds were raised or held by the campaigns themselves versus their affiliated party committees.
Democratic fundraising took a hit in the first three weeks of July, primarily due to the fallout from President Biden’s disappointing debate performance. While precise figures for that period were not disclosed by the Biden campaign, it is clear that the momentum shifted dramatically after July 21, when Biden exited the race. In the week following his departure, the Harris campaign experienced a fundraising windfall, pulling in more than Biden had in the first quarter of the year.
The Trump campaign also experienced robust fundraising, likely bolstered by recent events. The $139 million raised in July marked one of their strongest months to date, closely rivaling the $141 million raised in May when Trump’s supporters rallied in response to his felony conviction. In June, the Trump campaign collected $112 million, and the momentum continued into July as Trump navigated an assassination attempt, received the Republican nomination at the Milwaukee convention, and selected Senator JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate—events that clearly galvanized his donor base.
July marks the second consecutive month in which Democratic candidates outpaced the Trump campaign in fundraising. In June, while Biden was still the leading candidate, his campaign successfully raised $127 million and ended the month with $240 million on hand, setting the stage for the historic shifts that would unfold in the weeks to come.
