Kamala Harris’ campaign announced it had raised $310 million (C$430 million) in July, more than double the amount raised by Donald Trump, much of it since the vice president replaced Joe Biden in the November election.
While funding plays a vital role in American campaigns, often with astronomical amounts, the new Democratic candidate had raised $200 million in less than a week after Joe Biden withdrew on July 21, with donors disenchanted with the aging president making a comeback.
Kamala Harris’ team “raised $310 million in July, the largest fundraising effort for the 2024 election,” it announced in a statement.
This fundraising was “fueled by the best month of collection from small donors in the history of the American presidential election” and represents “more than double” what Donald Trump’s campaign collected in the same month, she congratulated herself.
The Republican candidate’s team announced in a statement Thursday that it had raised $138.7 million (C$192.4 million) in July, a significant sum raked in during the month in which Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt and received a triumphant endorsement at the Republican convention.
The staggering sums of money spent on American presidential campaigns are largely spent on expensive clips promoting the candidates’ records and promises. The Internet and television channels are flooded with them in the months leading up to the election.
The NGO Open Secrets, which specializes in political financing, estimates that the 2024 election could be the most expensive in American history, surpassing the record of 5.7 billion US dollars (about 7.9 billion Canadian) spent on that of 2020.
Weighed down by voter concerns and pressure from elected officials about his age and physical and mental abilities, Joe Biden, 81, has given in and announced his support for his vice-president Kamala Harris to take over the reins. She is expected to be officially nominated by her party in early August.
Since then, the Democratic camp has benefited from a new favourable momentum but, observers warn, it should be wary of excessive optimism, because, even if the gap is narrowing, Donald Trump still maintains a lead in the polls.