How the Biden-to-Harris switch turbocharged the presidential money race

The dramatic change at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket unleashed a flood of donations to the campaign account Kamala Harris inherited from Joe Biden, swamping even Donald Trump’s strongest fundraising days, a CNN analysis of newly filed campaign reports shows.

Over the three-day period in July that covered Biden’s withdrawal from the White House race and the rapid consolidation of Democratic support for his vice president, Harris’ principal campaign committee took in more than double what Trump’s campaign account reported collecting in the three days surrounding his felony conviction in New York, according to the review of contributions that total more than $200 this cycle.

The donor enthusiasm for Harris’ surprise candidacy has quickly eroded the cash advantage Trump once held.

The Harris campaign had previously announced collecting a whopping $310 million in July through its joint fundraising efforts with aligned Democratic Party committees – far exceeding the nearly $139 million that the Trump political operation said it had brought in last month. A Harris campaign official said Tuesday the team expected to cross the $500 million mark in fundraising in the coming days.

The CNN review examined sums raised by each candidate’s main campaign committee – a valuable resource in politics because those committees by law must receive discounts on television advertising, giving candidate-controlled money a greater impact than donations to parties and outside groups.