Campaign

Obama to virtually fundraise with Kamala Harris: report

Former President Obama will reportedly join Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), the Democratic vice presidential candidate, for virtual fundraisers next week.

A campaign aide with knowledge of the events told ABC News that the events will be a grassroots fundraiser focused on low-dollar donations and a high-dollar event on Oct. 2. 

The events will mark the first official fundraisers for the pair since the California senator was named Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running mate.

The Hill has reached out to the campaign for comment.

Obama is the most powerful surrogate for the Democratic ticket in the final weeks of the campaign.

The coronavirus pandemic has limited campaign events this year, compared to 2016 when Obama hit the campaign trail for then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and stumped in battleground states including Ohio and Florida. However, Biden allies have been strategizing how best to deploy the former commander in chief.

The outlet noted Obama and Harris have been longtime political allies, with Harris campaigning in Iowa for the then-Illinois senator during the 2008 presidential primary when she was San Francisco district attorney.

The two appeared in a video together earlier this month where they chatted about the campaign trail and working with Biden, Obama’s former vice president. 

The Biden-Harris campaign, in combination with the Democratic Party, started September with $466 million in cash reserves heading into the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election, an official confirmed to The Hill this week.

The Biden campaign’s current financial advantage over President Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) has reached more than $141 million. Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign communications director, said the president’s campaign and the RNC started this month with $325 million in cash.