Biden campaign raises $48 million in 48 hours after naming Kamala Harris
as VP choice
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[August 14, 2020]
Democratic presidential candidate
Biden and vice presidential candidate Harris hold first joint campaign
appearance as a ticket in Wilmington, Delaware
By James Oliphant and Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) - The campaign of Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden
has raised $48 million in the 48 hours since he named U.S. Senator
Kamala Harris the Democratic vice presidential nominee, a campaign
spokesman told Reuters late on Thursday.
Biden, a former vice president himself, on Tuesday picked Harris as his
choice for VP, making her the first Black woman on a major-party U.S.
presidential ticket.
With social unrest over racial injustice rocking the country for months
since the death in custody of an African-American man, George Floyd -
after a police officer knelt on his neck for about nine minutes - Biden
was under pressure to select a Black woman as his running mate.
Harris, a 55-year-old senator from California who made her own run for
the White House, is also the first Asian-American on a major
presidential ticket. Her parents were immigrants, her mother from India
and her father from Jamaica.
She became only the second Black female U.S. senator in history when
elected in 2016 and will be relied on to help mobilize
African-Americans, the Democratic Party's most loyal constituency.
Four years ago, the first dip in Black voter turnout in 20 years
contributed to Democrat Hillary Clinton's upset loss to Donald Trump in
the presidential election.
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Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe
Biden and vice presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris take the
stage at a campaign event, their first joint appearance since Biden
named Harris as his running mate, at Alexis Dupont High School in
Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., August 12, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Harris, a former prosecutor and state attorney general in
California, is known for her sometimes aggressive questioning style
in the Senate.
As a presidential candidate, she took Biden to task in a nationally
televised debate over his past stances on mandatory busing for
students as a means to desegregate schools.
The choice of a running mate has added significance for Biden, 77,
who would be the oldest person to become president if he is elected.
His age has led to speculation he will serve only one term, making
Harris a potential top contender for the Democratic nomination in
2024.
Biden and groups affiliated to his campaign had raised $140 million
in July.
(Reporting by James Oliphant in Washington and Kanishka Singh in
Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
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