Kamala Harris campaign maps out 'path to victory,' raises $126 million in three days

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign for president outlined her "path to victory" against former President Donald Trump in a memo Wednesday, touting $126 million now raised since President Joe Biden announced his exit from the 2024 election.

Jen O'Malley Dillon, chair of the Harris campaign, said in the memo that Harris is in "a strong position to win," pointing to three main factors: Harris' "well-documented support" among Black, Hispanic, and young voters, each core Democratic constituencies; an opportunity to expand Democrats' growing advantage with college-educated voters; and Harris' appeal with undecided voters.

After Biden dropped out, Harris quickly secured enough Democratic National Committee delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee and coalesced the party's establishment behind her bid. Yet the coming days are critical as she looks to define her candidacy amid attacks from Republicans and prove to Democrats she has a plan to beat Trump, the Republican nominee.

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Harris energizes the Democratic base, O'Malley Dillon said, pointing to a net approval rating that is 54 percentage points ahead of Trump with Black voters, 25 percentages better than Trump among young voters, 21 points better among women voters, and 30 points higher than Trump among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters.

She said Harris performs better than Trump among undecided, independent, and third-party Latino voters as well as Latino voters who are skeptical of both Biden and Trump.

Yet beyond the base, O'Malley Dillon said Harris is well-positioned to improve on Democrats' strong performances in 2020 and the 2022 midterms that were buoyed by suburban voters who are turned off by Trump. The group includes Democrats, independents and some Republicans.

Among white college-educated voters, O'Malley Dillon said Harris' net favorability is 19 percentage points higher than Trump. She said Harris tops Trump's net favorability among voters 65 and older by 18 percentage points.

"The Vice President has been at the forefront on the very issues that are most important to these voters – restoring women’s reproductive rights and upholding the rule of law following January 6, Donald Trump’s criminal convictions, and the Supreme Court’s immunity decision" O'Malley Dillon said.

Harris campaign says race is 'more fluid now'

O'Malley Dillon framed the race as Harris "fighting for a future" that strengthens democracy, protects abortion rights and ensures opportunities for everyone − versus Trump, "a convicted criminal running to enact his extreme and dangerous" agenda that would "roll back Americans’ rights and freedoms, hurt the middle class, and threaten our democracy."

Most recent national polls show Trump narrowly ahead of Harris, but the vast majority were hypothetical matchups taken before Biden's withdrawal from the race. A Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted after Biden's exit between July 22 and July 23, found Harris leading Trump 44% to 42% among registered voters.

O'Malley Dillon said the race is "more fluid now" with Harris replacing Biden atop the ticket.

"The Vice President is well-known but less well-known than both Trump and President Biden, particularly among Dem-leaning constituencies," she said.

More: 'I'm watching you, kid': Joe Biden dials into Harris's debut to campaign staff

She said the approximately 7% of undecided voters in the election are disproportionately Black, Latino, and under 30 years old, meaning they are more likely to shift to Harris than Trump.

"While we know that we cannot take these voters for granted, we have a significant opportunity to consolidate their support once they hear from our campaign," O'Malley Dillon said.

As for the path to 270 electoral votes needed to win the election, the Harris campaign − like the Biden campaign it replaced − is zeroing in on seven battlegrounds states: The so-called "blue wall" states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin and the Sun Belt states of North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. Biden won all but North Carolina in 2020 but most polling has shown Trump now ahead in all seven.

O'Malley Dillon said Harris' "advantages with young voters, Black voters, and Latino voters will be important to our multiple pathways to 270 electoral votes."

64% of Harris contributions have come from new donors

The $126 million Harris has raised since Sunday includes $81 million in just the first 24 hours since Biden's exit, making it the largest one-day fundraising haul for any candidate ever, according to the campaign.

The contributions have come from 1.4 million donors, 64% of whom were making their first donations of the 2024 election cycle.

The campaign also touted adding 74,000 new volunteers since Harris announced her bid for president and said Harris has inherited Biden's robust campaign infrastructure that includes 250 coordinates offices across the battleground states.

"This campaign will be close, it will be hard fought, but Vice President Harris is in a position of strength – and she’s going to win," O'Malley Dillon said.

Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kamala Harris campaign raises $126 million in donations in three days