Kamala Harris has secured the backing of some of the Democrats’ biggest donors, strengthening the vice-president’s position as the favourite to win the party’s nomination within hours of Joe Biden saying he would not contest the 2024 US election.
Biden’s decision came after several party leaders and donors made it clear that they would rally behind Harris, said three people who had spoken with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, George and Alex Soros, and several Wall Street donors announced their support for Harris within hours of Biden’s announcement.
“Kamala Harris is the right person at the right time,” wrote Hoffman, who had given over $8.6mn to boost the Biden-Harris ticket.
Brad Karp, a prominent Wall Street fundraiser and chair of the New York-based corporate law firm Paul Weiss, swiftly endorsed Harris, who he backed during her 2020 run.
“Kamala Harris would be a formidable nominee and make a superb president,” Karp told the Financial Times, calling her “a dynamic and decisive leader and a bridge builder, who I believe could help unite our country, heal our divisions and help forge a better future for all Americans”.
Harris had already started vetting potential running mates, including Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, according to two people close to the vice-president. Shapiro tweeted on Sunday that he would “do everything I can to help elect @KamalaHarris as the 47th President of the United States”.
“Kamala Harris is the easiest choice with someone like Shapiro, [Arizona senator Mark] Kelly, Beshear as VP,” said Boston-based real estate investor George Krupp, who hosted a Biden fundraiser in May. “This is a positive development. Biden is an honourable man and he did the right thing.”
Former president Donald Trump beat Biden’s fundraising machine in the second quarter of the year, figures released this week showed. Trump-aligned fundraising groups outraised Biden-supporting groups by almost $100mn between April and June, and Biden’s fundraising was expected to be even worse in July.
But Harris raised over $27.5mn in the five hours after her campaign launch Sunday, according to fundraising platform ActBlue.
You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.
While other Democrats might be interested in running, there are important financial benefits to having one member of the Biden-Harris campaign remain on the ticket, as Harris would have easy access to its $96mn war chest.
Harris secured key endorsements from the Clintons, followed by the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, making it unlikely that a mainstream Democrat would challenge her, said a west coast Democratic fundraiser.
“With our party that kind of locks it down even though Obama didn’t endorse [Harris],” he said. “I would be really surprised and shocked I think if any [other potential candidates] went out there now after she’s marshaled these institutional forces. It’s over. I don’t see any reasonable scenario in which it’s not done.”
Roger Altman, founder of investment bank Evercore and an influential fundraiser, said that he thought Harris was the Democrats’ best option.
“President Biden made a courageous decision today,” said Altman on Sunday. “He boosted the prospect of defeating Donald Trump and preserving American democracy and the rule of law.”
“Harris has the political skill, talent and the infrastructure to raise a ton of money and give Democrats the war chest needed to win in November,” added former Democratic party finance director Clayton Cox. “You will see a huge uptick at all levels of giving as donors rally around vice-president Harris.”
Broadway producer Mark Cortale, who co-hosted a fundraiser in Provincetown, Massachusetts on Saturday featuring the vice-president, said watching Biden’s debate with Trump had been like a “bad dream” but now “I feel hope for the first time in weeks”.
“It is time for Kamala Harris to become the first female president of the United States,” Cortale said: “I really believe she can do it. This is thrilling.”
Prediction markets on Sunday showed Harris as the clear favourite to win the Democratic nomination. However, she is starting with an approval rating below 39 per cent — the same as Biden’s — according to FiveThirtyEight. National and swing state polls have increasingly favoured Trump in recent weeks.
Harris will need to move swiftly to choose a running mate, the west coast fundraiser said.
“With 106 days to go, everybody knows it’s time to get on board,” he said. “She probably announces her [running mate] by the end of the week so that person can begin campaigning. It’s a full-on sprint at this point. “
You are seeing a snapshot of an interactive graphic. This is most likely due to being offline or JavaScript being disabled in your browser.
Some major Democratic donors also favour an open race and think that a swing state governor such as Shapiro or Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer would be a better pick.
“If I were a delegate today, I would have a preference for Governor Whitmer,” said Stewart Bainum, a Democratic megadonor and former Maryland delegate.
Venture capitalist and big Democratic donor Vinod Khosla called on X for an open convention, saying “a more moderate candidate” like Whitmer or Shapiro “would be a great thing for America not held hostage between Maga extremists and [diversity, equity and inclusion] extremism”.
Reed Hastings, the Netflix chair who has given more than $3mn to help Democrats take Congress this election cycle, posted: “Dem delegates need to pick a swing state winner.”
