NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris raised $27 million at a packed New York fundraiser on Sunday, its biggest fundraising since she took over at the at the top of the ticket of the president Joe Bidenaccording to a Harris campaign aide.
Although Harris has by far more money than former President Donald Trump, the 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 has rejected further debatedeclaring on Saturday that “it is simply too late.”
“The voting has already started,” he said at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina. voting for the first time in person last week in Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia, the states with the first early voting in person opportunities. 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 is at the forefront of voters’ minds after prices have gone up during Biden’s presidency and distanced herself from the president’s economic record. Trump criticized her for being slow to release detailed policy proposals on her own since she topped the charts.
Harris said She also supported Trump’s proposal to eliminate taxes on tips, while limiting his plan to low- and middle-income taxpayers. She also criticized Trump’s plan to impose steep tariffs on most imported goods, which she said would significantly increase the cost of goods.
Neither Harris nor Trump have any decisive advantage with the public on the economy, according to the latest survey conducted by Associated Press Public Affairs Research Center-NORCThe survey suggests Harris is gaining ground on an issue that was once an obvious Trump asset.
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.
