![US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris does not have a clear record in the economic sphere, freeing her up to manoeuvre [File: Go Nakamura/Reuters]](https://obasanjonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/US-Vice-President-and-Democratic-2.jpg)
Kamala Harris has secured over $200 million in small donations, showcasing her strong grassroots support and strategic fundraising prowess in the political arena.
Ever since Kamala Harris took the lead as the Democratic presidential candidate after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race a little over a month ago, her campaign has been receiving an overwhelming influx of donations.
This week, the campaign of Harris disclosed that they had amassed roughly $540 million in donations – surpassing any other political campaign’s fundraising within a similar timeframe.
According to Patrick Frank, former outreach director of ActBlue – the Democratic Party’s largest online fundraising platform- and now serving as outreach director for Lunda – an EU-based small-donor fundraising platform-, reaching this particular milestone in donations is highly noteworthy.
“It is unequivocally singular. This quantity is unparalleled,” he informed Al Jazeera. The sole resemblance? “I suppose there might be some equivalence to the funds allotted for disaster relief which can equally generate a substantial amount,” he appended.
However, in a nation where political campaigns are frequently dependent on sizable fundraising machines referred to as super PACs, the Harris campaign distinguishes itself by garnering an astounding inflow of funds from small contributors.
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Approximately 42 percent of Harris’ total funding, which amounts to $497 million as of August 20th, was contributed by small donors who gave less than $200. This data was revealed by Open Secrets – a non-profit organization located in Washington DC that monitors and publishes information about political campaign financing.
So far, individuals running for the 2024 US presidential race from different political backgrounds have amassed a total of about $1.5bn in donations received both from small and big contributors.
Small donors have contributed to the fund.
Kamala Harris boasts the largest proportion of small donors amidst all presidential candidates in the 2024 US election campaign, since stepping up as Democratic nominee following Joe Biden’s replacement in July.
Contributions of less than $200 are considered as those from small donors.
