Using money as a gauge for political viability, Vice President Kamala Harris clearly enjoyed a successful first few days as the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee to replace President Joe Biden.
The campaign she inherited Sunday, along with the Democratic National Committee and the party's joint fundraising committees, hauled in a record-setting $100 million in less than 48 hours after Biden dropped his bid for a second term and endorsed Harris.
That probably looks like game-changing money. But campaign cash is just one measure of performance in presidential politics. Polls tracking a candidate's favorability with voters also impact the outcome.
Here, Harris has a serious problem, with echoes of Hillary Clinton's 2016 loss for president against Donald Trump. Harris will need all that money and much more to address it.
Don't get me wrong ‒ $81 million in the first 24 hours, plus the second-day take, was exactly the kind of splashy arrival Harris needed to trumpet her ascendance to the top of the ticket. It drew headlines and analysis because more than half of the 888,000 donors in those 24 hours were making their first contribution this year.
Add that to the $96 million in the campaign account, as of June 30, that Biden handed her as she took over the presidential campaign. No wonder a majority of DNC delegates pledged their support for Harris, boxing out any would-be rivals who might have challenged her for the nomination.
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Harris, the first Black, South Asian and female vice president of the United States,........