NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris raised $27 million at a sold-out fundraiser in New York City on Sunday, her biggest haul since she took over as the frontrunner for President Joe Biden, according to a Harris campaign aide.
Although Harris has significantly more money than former President Donald Trump, that money will be needed to compete with expensive advertising from deep-pocketed outside groups that support Trump, said the aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the private fundraising.
The blockbuster fundraiser was held at Cipriani Wall Street, in a sprawling Greek Revival ballroom with more than a dozen columns. Much of the crowd stood shoulder to shoulder as Harris teased Trump for refusing to debate her again.
“My opponent seems to be looking for an excuse,” Harris told the crowd. “I believe we owe it to the American people, to the voters, to come together one more time before Election Day.”
She reiterated this later, telling reporters after landing outside Washington: “We still have a lot to discuss.”
Trump refused new debates, saying Saturday it was “too late.”
“Voting has already started,” he said at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina. Voters cast their first ballots in person last week in Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia, the states that offered the first opportunities for in-person early voting. A dozen more states will follow by mid-October.
Harris also said she would deliver a speech Wednesday outlining her economic vision, saying that “we can do more to invest in the aspirations and ambitions of the American people while addressing the challenges they face.”
She cited as examples the high cost of home ownership and stubbornly high grocery bills.
“I grew up middle class and I will never forget where I come from,” she said.
In detailing her economic agenda, Harris can address an issue that has been on voters’ minds since Biden’s presidency saw a spike in prices and distance herself from the president’s economic record. Trump has criticized her for being slow to release her own detailed policy proposals since she became the top candidate.
Harris has said she would push for a reduction in the middle class and a higher tax on the wealthy and corporations. She has also embraced Trump’s proposal to eliminate tip taxes, but she would limit her plan to low- and middle-income taxpayers. She has also criticized Trump’s plan to impose steep tariffs on most imported goods, which she said would significantly increase the cost of goods.
Harris and Trump do not have a commanding lead in public opinion on the economy, according to the latest poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The survey suggests Harris is gaining ground on an issue that was once a Trump strong point.
About 4 in 10 registered voters say Republican Trump would do a better job managing the economy, the poll found, while a similar number of voters say the same about the Democratic vice president. About 1 in 10 voters don’t trust either candidate, and a similar share trust both candidates equally.
The new poll finds that the economy is one of the most important issues for about 8 in 10 voters when considering which candidate to support, eclipsing other important issues like health care and crime.
Harris has moved away from the liberal positions she espoused during her unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, including proposals to ban fracking, establish a single-payer health care system and decriminalize illegal border crossings.
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Cooper reported from Phoenix.
