After Biden announced his withdrawal from the race, people gathered outside the White House to express their gratitude . The Democratic Party saw the largest number of online donations in years. As Biden withdrew from the race and Harris campaigned to lock in the nomination, Democratic donors donated online at an astonishing rate.
The Democratic Party also took quick action and voiced its support for Harris. After Biden issued a statement supporting Harris to "take over", former President Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also supported Harris in their statements. Several Democrats who were considered strong contenders for "Biden's replacement" also expressed their support for Harris. Currently, all 50 Democratic Party chairmen support Harris to become the new presidential candidate.
However, while paying tribute and thanking Biden, several important senior figures in the Democratic Party, including Obama, Pelosi, and Schumer, remained silent on supporting Harris or any other candidate. However, CNN commented that the reason why these senior Democratic Party leaders did not express their views immediately was to avoid giving the outside world the impression of "forcing Harris on voters."
With Biden out of the race, the Democratic Party still needs to formally nominate a presidential candidate at the National Convention on August 19, and Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has sent a signal: Biden's successor will not be crowned automatically. This means that Harris still needs to obtain the support of the vast majority of Democratic delegates and must surpass all other candidates. After Biden gave up, Harris almost immediately contacted party representatives to lock in the candidate nomination. Compared with others, Harris has a natural advantage.
Biden won 99% of the delegates in the January-June primaries, and Harris, as Biden's running mate, with Biden's support, is very likely to win the approval of these delegates. Most Democrats are likely to follow the president's footsteps and support the vice president. There are both political and practical reasons for doing so . Harris is Biden's heir apparent under the law, and for the Democratic Party, the consequences of bypassing the "halo" of being the first black female president would be very serious and would be detrimental to winning the votes of women of color.
In addition, from the perspective of campaign funds, Harris is also the first choice of the Democratic Party. The presidential campaign is an expensive undertaking. If someone else is chosen, it will be difficult to raise enough funds in a short period of time, and there will not be enough money to introduce new candidates and organize campaign activities. According to the provisions of the electoral system, Harris will inherit Biden's campaign funds after he withdraws, but other candidates are unlikely to have the opportunity to use this money. For various reasons, it is difficult for another Democrat to challenge Harris.
However, by the end of June, Biden's campaign had spent $243 million and 93% of the funds raised had been spent. Entering July, Biden's campaign funds were only $96 million. Trump's campaign team had $128 million left at the end of last month. Biden's team bought $35 million in advertising time in July, while Trump's advertising time was less than $70,000.
After Biden's poor debate, many Democratic "big donors" threatened Biden to withdraw from the election by withdrawing their funds. Shortly after he announced his withdrawal, several Biden donors and advisers said they had received letters from "frustrated donors" and were ready to donate to support Harris. The Tennessee Democratic Party fundraiser personally spoke to 60 representatives, and all agreed to support Harris. He expects Harris to raise $700 million to $1 billion before the November 5 election, and expects to raise $30 million in the next 24 to 48 hours.