Biden campaign raises $ 48 million in 48 hours after appointing Kamala Harris as VP choice

(Reuters) – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s campaign has raised $ 48 million in the 48 hours since he nominated U.S. Senator Kamala Harris to nominate Democratic Vice President, a campaign spokesman told Reuters late on Thursday.

Biden, a former vice president himself, on Tuesday picked Harris as his choice for VP, making her the first Black woman on a U.S. party card for presidencies.

With social unrest over rational injustice shaking the country months since the death of an African-American man, George Floyd – after a police officer nodded for about nine minutes – Biden was under pressure to select a Black woman as his running mate.

Harris, a 55-year-old California senator who made her own run for the White House, is also the first Asian-American on a major presidential card. Her parents were immigrants, her mother from India and her father from Jamaica.

She only became the second Black female U.S. senator in history when she was elected in 2016 and will be trusted to help mobilize African Americans, the Democratic Party’s loyal constituency.

Four years ago, the first dip in Black voter turnout in 20 years contributed to the overwhelming loss of Democrat Hillary Clinton to Donald Trump in the presidential election.

Harris, a former prosecutor and attorney general in California, is known for her sometimes aggressive questioning style in the Senate.

As a presidential candidate, she took Biden to task in a national television debate on his views in the past on mandatory bus line for students as a means of desegregating schools.

The choice of a running mate has added significance for Biden, 77, who would be the oldest person to become president if elected.

His age has led to speculation that he will serve only one term, making Harris a potential top contender for the 2024 Democratic nomination.

Bids and groups affiliated with his campaign raised $ 140 million in July.