Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign has raised nearly $50 million in grassroots donations since President Biden suspended his re-election bid and endorsed her, Fox News Digital has learned.
“Since the President endorsed Vice President Harris yesterday afternoon, everyday Americans have given $49.6 million in grassroots donations to her campaign,” the Harris campaign told Fox News Digital.
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The campaign told Fox News Digital that the figure represents grassroots donations raised across “all entities, including ActBlue.”
Harris announced her presidential campaign Sunday afternoon just after Biden announced he would drop out of the 2024 race, amid pressure from within the Democratic Party.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally on June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The unprecedented announcement came as an increasing number of Democrat lawmakers had begun to publicly call for Biden to step aside and the party’s leadership reportedly was engaged in efforts to convince Biden, 81, he could not win in November’s general election against former President Trump, the 2024 GOP nominee who Biden defeated four years ago to win the White House.
Biden quickly offered his “full support and endorsement” for Harris to take over as the party’s presidential nominee.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president,” Biden wrote in a public letter. “While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden step off Air Force One upon arrival at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey on June 29, 2024. Biden is in New Jersey for campaign fundraisers. ((Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images))
Biden said he will formally address the nation later this week about his decision.
In a social media post, Biden backed Harris to take over as the party’s standard-bearer.
“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,” Biden wrote.
The president’s endorsement could dissuade any serious completion from other Democrats who may have mulled a bid for the presidential nomination and could clear a path for the vice president to succeed Biden as the party’s nominee.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
Harris has already gained endorsements from more than half a dozen governors, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul; along with more than 178 Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate.
Harris, in a statement about two hours after Biden’s announcement, said she is “honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”
“Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead,” she added. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
The vice president praised her boss, thanking Biden “for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country. His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many Presidents who have served two terms in office.”
A source familiar told Fox News that Biden and Harris spoke multiple times on Sunday ahead of the president’s stunning announcement.
Biden’s endorsement of Harris was quickly followed by two top party elders, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and former Sen. Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.
“We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her.”
A Biden/Harris campaign sign is seen during a press conference regarding the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 29, 2024. (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, one of the Biden campaign’s biggest donors, also quickly endorsed Harris.
Former President Obama, however, has not yet endorsed her, and is instead backing a process where an “outstanding” nominee can emerge.
“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” the former president wrote in a letter.
Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama were among the scores of top Democrats praising Biden for putting the nation and the party over personal ambitions.
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“Joe Biden has been one of America’s most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me. Today, we’ve also been reminded — again — that he’s a patriot of the highest order.” the Obamas wrote.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have not yet endorsed Harris.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
