A virtual fundraiser featuring Sen. Kamala Harris has already raised more than $2 million for Joe Biden's campaign as he considers whom to pick as his vice presidential running mate.
The event, scheduled to take place Tuesday, cleared the fundraising mark the day before the gathering is supposed to take place, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. These people declined to be named as the fundraising haul for Biden has yet to be made public.
Tickets for the event start at $500 and go up to $100,000. The funds go to the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising operation with the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Harris is one of several women considered by party leaders as a leading contender to be Biden's pick for vice president. The strong showing by Harris and her supporters highlights that her ability to successfully raise money, at small and big donor levels, could be an asset if Biden added her to his ticket. Other potential picks for Biden include Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Val Demings and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, among others.
Harris herself recently set up a joint fundraising agreement with the DNC. While it's unclear how much Biden raised in either May or the early stages of June, people fundraising for him have seen a surge in contributions and commitments in recent weeks.
The virtual event is set to rake in more than an event recently hosted by Hillary Clinton, who, according to Politico, raised $2 million for a Biden-DNC joint fundraising committee.
The Harris event has a goal of raising $2.5 million, one of the people added, and they are on track to blow past that total.
A spokesman for Biden declined to confirm the fundraising haul from the Harris event.
The timing of the Harris moneymaking event coincides with her latest efforts on speaking out against President Donald Trump in the wake of protests across the country following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police officers.
Harris, a former California attorney general, recently blasted Trump after he invoked Floyd's name during a speech at the White House about recent job gains in the economy after more than 40 million lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
She's also one of many lawmakers in Congress who crafted a police reform bill that was unveiled on Monday.
The legislation would make it easier for victims of abuses to recover damages, create a national registry of police misconduct and ban chokeholds, among other provisions.
