Harris raises record-breaking 79,5m euros as Biden exits race

Kamala Harris raised 79,5 million euros in donations over the past 24 hours for the Democrats' campaign. Her campaign representatives said it was the most significant 24-hour collection in history. On Sunday, Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Harris.

According to CBS News, this staggering amount underscores the vice president's enormous financial advantage over potential Democratic contenders. Although Joe Biden, by stepping out of the election race, pointed to Kamala Harris as his successor in the race to the White House, the candidate is formally nominated by the delegates at the Democratic convention, which will take place in August.

The Democrats' campaign team reported that over the last 24 hours, more than 888,000 small donors made contributions, 60% of which were their first donations to this election campaign. The day before, Harris raised 48 million euros for the Democrats' campaign.

"The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections" said Kevin Munoz, spokesperson for Kamala Harris's campaign.

Joe Biden withdrew from the campaign after dozens of Democrats called him to step down following his disastrous performance in the debate at the end of June. Biden announced his decision on Sunday evening.

Delegates nominate the presidential candidate by casting their vote. When Biden withdrew, the delegates—legally bound to name him the nominee—gained complete freedom to choose whom they wanted.

However, the critical factor is that they are loyal to Joe Biden, having been selected by his campaign team. Therefore, there is little risk that they will not follow the president's wishes. The most likely scenario is that Biden will ask them to support Harris, and from 19-22 August, she will be officially nominated as the Democratic candidate.