Zoom calls that ignite a pep rally flare with special celebrity guests have helped Harris re-connect with voters, raise more than $200 million and position her almost neck in neck with Republican candidate Donald Trump in the latest polls.
The most recent virtual rally was held Monday evening, July 29 under the auspices of a group called White Dudes for Harris. Prior to the call’s start more than 75,000 people had signed up to participate. Two Democratic governors along with actors Mark Hamill and singer Josh Groban spiced up the audience.
In the prior week, three virtual rallies with 90,000, 232,000 and 200,000 participants raised a total of $11.3 million. These rallies have been organized around group identity, a fresh recruiting tool Harris’ team will expand upon throughout the coming months. Fundraising totals from the White Dudes call and another July 29 massive call which targeted women activists are not yet available.
The Harris campaign has created a sure-fire formula that combined fundraising – always the greatest emphasis at every virtual rally – and fills the campaign’s ranks with revved-up foot soldiers who are excited to post targeted messages on social media, host house parties, canvass door-to-door and phone bank and write check after check. On some calls, the campaign is pushing 47 for 47 ($47, $470 or $4700 as a targeted donation). If elected, Harris will be the 47th president.
The unbridled enthusiasm generated by these low-cost, easy to organize events has provided Harris an unprecedented opportunity to rebrand herself and reach new voters. Not having to fight her way to the nomination through other potential presidential rivals has given Harris time to tweak her positions on contentious issues that divide progressives and moderates inside the party. By doing so, she has become a more attractive candidate to young and ethnic voters which are behind her jump in the polls.
The defeat of Roe v. Wade and restrictive abortion laws recently enacted by numerous state legislatures has also shined a new light overall on gender. According to an analysis by Derek Thompson at The Atlantic, observers can no longer assume that most men are Republicans and most women Democrats. “The political parties are more divided by their views on gender than they are divided by gender itself,” writes Thompson. Republicans envision gender in a more traditional way while Democratic men and women subscribe to a much more expansive view. Although competing with inflation, the jobs outlook, and political unrest in the Ukraine and the Middle East, gender issues could push turnout toward Harris and other Democrats up and down the ticket on November 5.
In a final note, the Louisiana Democratic Party has endorsed Harris for President and Second District Congressman Troy Carter for re-election.
