Kamala Harris has secured the backing of some of the Democrats’ biggest donors, strengthening the US vice-president’s position as the favourite to win the party’s nomination after Joe Biden announced he would drop out of the presidential race.
Mr Biden’s decision came after several party leaders and donors made it clear that they would rally behind Ms Harris, said three people who had spoken to Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, House of Representatives minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer endorsed Ms Harris on Monday, as did Ms Pelosi, Illinois governor JB Pritzker and Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, who are both considered possible vice-presidential candidates.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, George and Alex Soros and several Wall Street donors declared their support for Ms Harris within hours of Mr Biden’s announcement.
“Kamala Harris is the right person at the right time,” wrote Mr Hoffman, who had given more than $8.6 million (€7.8 million) 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 Ms Harris, whom he backed during her 2020 run.
“Kamala Harris would be a formidable nominee and make a superb president,” Mr Karp said, 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”.
The support from donors came just hours after Mr Biden conceded to a weeks-long pressure campaign from inside the party to leave the 2024 presidential race over concerns about his age.
Shortly after announcing his decision on Sunday, Mr Biden endorsed Ms Harris as the new nominee.
In the aftermath of his move, the dollar and US Treasury yields edged lower on Monday as investors reassessed so-called Trump trades – bets on equities and bonds based on a possible Republican victory in November.
Ms Harris’s bid for the nomination, which will be officially decided at the Democratic National Convention in August, was strengthened after California governor Gavin Newsom, who was high on the list of potential Biden successors, backed her on Sunday evening.
Ms Harris had already started vetting potential running mates, including Mr Beshear and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, according to two people close to the vice-president.
In a post on the social media platform X on Sunday, Mr Shapiro said 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 property investor George Krupp, who hosted a fundraiser for Mr Biden in May. “This is a positive development. Biden is an honourable man and he did the right thing.”
Former president Donald Trump beat Mr 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 $100 million between April and June, and Mr Biden’s fundraising was expected to be even worse in July.
But Ms Harris raised more than $46.7 million in the seven hours after her campaign launch on Sunday – more than the 2024 Biden-Harris campaign ever raised in one day, according to fundraising platform ActBlue.
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 Ms Harris would have easy access to its $96 million war chest.
Ms 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.
However Barack Obama’s statement on Mr Biden’s decision to drop out of the race on Sunday made no mention of Ms Harris.
Roger Altman, founder of investment bank Evercore and an influential fundraiser, said he thought Ms Harris was the Democrats’ best option.
“President Biden made a courageous decision today,” said Mr Altman on Sunday. “He boosted the prospect of defeating Donald Trump and preserving American democracy and the rule of law.”
Former Democratic Party finance director Clayton Cox said: “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. 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 Mr Biden’s debate with Mr Trump on CNN last month 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,” Mr Cortale said. “I really believe she can do it. This is thrilling.” – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024
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