Vice President Kamala Harris raised more than $81 million in 24 hours after officially launching her election campaign—an amount that surpasses even the opening weekend haul of the blockbuster movie Twisters.
Twisters, directed by Lee Isaac Chung, is a standalone sequel to 1996's Twister that's received generally positive reviews from critics since its release this past weekend. The movie made $80.5 million over its opening weekend—just shy of what Harris raised in the immediate aftermath since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her to be his successor.
Culture writer Ben Flanagan couldn't help but note the contrast, pointing to Variety's reporting of the film's box office in response to an Associated Press article about the Harris campaign's fundraising success.
He joked that Harris "outgrossed Twisters in her opening weekend."
People couldn't help but comment on this strange but true statistic, seeing it as proof of Harris' viability as a candidate.
The significant fundraising haul, which includes contributions to the campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and joint fundraising committees, marks the largest 24-hour sum reported by either side in the 2024 campaign. According to Harris' campaign, it is the largest single-day total in U.S. history.
Just hours before, Future Forward, the largest super PAC in Democratic politics, announced it had secured $150 million in commitments from donors who had previously been hesitant or undecided, according to a senior adviser.
This surge in fundraising in addition to securing the support of a majority of pledged delegates as of Monday night, ensures she will be the Democratic Party’s nominee. The nomination will be made official when the delegates meet at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19.
Harris' initial 24-hour fundraising total easily surpassed the $50 million former President Donald Trump raised immediately after his felony convictions and the $38 million Biden secured over the four days following last month's poor debate performance. The Trump campaign has not disclosed how much it raised immediately after last weekend’s assassination attempt.
As of Wednesday, a Harris campaign memo reports having raised a total of $126 million since Sunday from 1.4 million grassroots donors. In addition, over 100,000 people have signed up to volunteer since Sunday.
