Live updates: Harris, Democrats net $100 million in online donations after Biden exits race

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker just posted his Harris endorsement on X.

— Isabel Engel

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and his law firm, Covington & Burling, will vet potential running mates for Harris’ presidential campaign, Reuters reported.

Holder was AG under then-President Barack Obama from 2009 through 2015.

CNBC has requested comment on the report from Covington & Burling.

— Dan Mangan

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has endorsed Harris, calling her “a proven leader who has delivered for the American people again and again.”

“Kamala Harris is the best person to make the case against Donald Trump,” Healey says. “Trump is coming after our rights and our freedoms. And he will jack up costs on the middle class by gutting Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act.”

“The future of our country as we know it is on the line,” the Democrat says.

— Dan Mangan

The Democrats’ digital fundraising website ActBlue has raised more than $100 million since Sunday, the day Biden withdrew from the campaign for president and backed Harris, according to a website that tracks the company’s live fundraising ticker.

The gargantuan amount is historic, and it solidifies a massive amount of resources for Democrats to take on Donald Trump and the Republican Party with months to go until the November Election Day.

It also suggests that most party donors are increasingly enthusiastic about Harris’ candidacy almost a month after Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump.

— Brian Schwartz

Trump issued an all-caps tirade against Harris in a Truth Social post, one of the first times today that he has gone after the new Democratic front-runner.

“Joe Biden will go down as the Worst President in the history of the United States. KAMALA, OUR HORRIBLE & INCOMPETENT BORDER CZAR, WILL BE WORSE!” Trump wrote.

Trump’s Truth Social account has spent much of the day spewing posts against President Biden, who is no longer in the presidential race. He has attacked Biden in roughly a dozen Truth Social posts in the hours since the president dropped out of the race.

Meanwhile, Trump has so far written far fewer diatribes against Harris, who has racked up party endorsements as Democrats coalesce behind her new presidential run.

— Rebecca Picciotto

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is not yet endorsing Harris, saying that he and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will meet with the vice president in person soon.

“Leader Schumer and I are scheduled to meet with Vice President Harris shorty,” Jeffries told reporters Monday afternoon. “I’m excited for that meeting.”

The two top Democrats are part of a shrinking list of lawmakers that have yet to endorse Harris.

“Vice President Kamala Harris has excited the community, she’s excited the House Democratic Caucus and she’s exciting the country,” he said. “And so I’m looking forward to sitting down with her in short order with Leader Schumer, and we’ll have more to say about the path forward as soon as that meeting concludes.”

Jeffries said the meeting will take place when Schumer returns to Washington, D.C. — the Senate is back in session on Tuesday — and when they get confirmation from Harris.

– Josephine Rozzelle

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green endorsed Harris’ candidacy, saying the vice president “has the experience, the energy and the vision to carry the Democratic Party to victory in November.”

“We have an incredible vice president who is ready to lead the country forward,” the Democrat Green said.

Hawaii is one of the most reliable states for the Democratic Party in presidential elections. It the 16 presidential elections held since Hawaii became a state in 1959, Democratic nominees have won all but two, in 1972 and 1984.

– Dan Mangan

An Ohio state senator warned at a Trump campaign rally headlined by Sen. JD Vance that, if Trump and Vance, lose the presidential race “it’s going to take a civil war to save the country.”

State Sen. George Lang yelled, “Fight, fight, fight!” as he took the stage before the GOP vice presidential nominee Vance spoke in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio.

“We’ve got time,” Lang told the crowd. “Hey, we are in the fight for the soul of our nation. We are in a fight for our kids and our grandkids, a fight that we can never imagine.”

“I believe wholeheartedly Donald Trump and Butler County’s JD Vance are the last chance to save our country politically,” Lang said.

“I’m afraid if we lose this one it’s going to take a civil war to save the country,” Lang said. “And it will be saved.”

– Dan Mangan

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has officially endorsed Harris to helm the Democratic ticket in the race against Trump.

“Today, it is with immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future that I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States,” Pelosi said in a statement. “My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for President is official, personal and political.”

One of Biden’s closest allies, Pelosi’s backing is a key vote of confidence for Harris as the Democratic Party rallies around her after several weeks of infighting as pressure mounted on Biden to drop out of the race.

Pelosi’s statement comes as eyes watch several other top Democrats have so far held out on their endorsements including former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth are both supporting Harris for the Democratic nomination.

“Kamala Harris shares my mission of taking on the powerful to deliver for the people. She will fight for reproductive rights, American jobs, and security abroad,” Merkley said. “She will champion housing, education, healthcare and equal rights. I will do all I can to help her win.”

“I am proud to endorse [Harris] and will do everything I can to ensure she has the support needed to win,” Duckworth said. “Right now, Democrats must be fully united and put ALL of our energy into preventing Trump and his MAGA allies from rolling back all the freedoms and progress we’ve made.”

— Josephine Rozzelle

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is backing Harris as the Democratic nominee, saying he is “Proud to support and be all in for the next president.”

The notable endorsement comes from one of Biden’s most vocal defenders who criticized Democrats for calling on the president to drop out of the race.

“Democrats, stop worrying about Joe Biden’s legacy and think about yours,” Fetterman posted on July 13. “Abandon a great president after a rough debate or stand with the only person who ever beat Trump’s a– into dust. All must choose, but we’re headed for assured mutual destruction if we don’t cut the s—.”

— Josephine Rozzelle

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took her name off the list of potential vice president contenders. Instead, she will serve as the co-chair of the Harris campaign, she said in a post on social media platform X.

“Today, not only am I fired up to endorse @KamalaHarris for President of the United States, I’m proud to serve as a co-chair of her campaign,” she said in the post.

When asked if she would accept a job as Kamala Harris‘ running mate, she reaffirmed her commitment to Michigan.

“I am proud to be the Governor of Michigan,” she said. “I am not going anywhere.”

Gov. Whitmer joins several Democratic governors offering wholehearted support of the Harris campaign, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.

— Isabel Engel

The Democrats’ digital fundraising website ActBlue has raised more than $90 million since Sunday, the day Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, according to a website that tracks the company’s live fundraising ticker.

The site shows that on Sunday, ActBlue processed more than $66 million in campaign donations to Democrats. It helped raise an additional $24 million on Monday. ActBlue raised more than $12 million on Sunday during the 8:00 p.m. ET hour alone.

ActBlue boasted on Sunday that the Harris campaign launch was the company’s “biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle.”

The Harris campaign has said it alone has raised upward of $50 million since the Biden endorsement.

— Brian Schwartz

Mark Pincus, the billionaire founder of video game company Zynga, is unsure where he stands on Harris as President Biden’s replacement in the race against Trump.

“At this point, I’m undecided,” Pincus told CNBC on Sunday.

In a follow-up on Monday, Pincus told CNBC that he feels “confused” about the election and will most likely “sit this all out.”

He added that while he is open to Harris taking the top of the ticket, he is “waiting to hear her platform” and would prefer the new nominee get selected via an open convention.

As the pressure campaign built on Biden to bow out of the race, Pincus, who has a net worth of $1.4 billion according to Forbes’ Monday estimate, was one of the voices in the Democratic megadonor class who went on the record and called on Biden to step aside.

Pincus said he wants to see a Democratic candidate with an “Obama-like, inspiring platform that speaks to innovation and growth and a level playing field that invests in education and health care along with secure borders, talent-focused immigration and defending U.S. interests abroad.”

— Brian Schwartz, Rebecca Picciotto

Billionaire Democratic megadonor Mike Bloomberg stopped short of endorsing Harris on Monday in a social media post, a day after Biden dropped out of the race.

Bloomberg, who has given millions of dollars in support of Biden and Democrats this election cycle, said he believes the party should take the time to engage with voters on what they want weeks before the convention in Chicago.

“Democrats now have a chance for a fresh new start, and while some elected leaders and party officials make their endorsements, there are still four weeks before the party’s more than 4,000 delegates convene in Chicago,” Bloomberg wrote. “That is more than enough time for the party to take the pulse of voters, especially in battleground states, to determine who is best positioned to win in November and lead the country over the next four years.”

Bloomberg has a net worth of just more than $104 billion, according to Forbes.

— Brian Schwartz

With Harris now the Democratic front-runner for president, social media is reviving one of the vice president’s most viral moments.

The meme was born in May 2023 when Harris, speaking about the important role parents and grandparents play in the lives of young people, recalled a quote from her mother.

“She would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people,'” Harris said.

“‘You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you,'” she quoted her mother saying.

The quote, and Harris’ unique delivery of the line, became an instant meme. Now, her supporters are using coconut and palm tree emojis to show their support.

Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz posted a picture of himself climbing a coconut tree, captioned “Madam Vice President, we are ready to help.”

After endorsing Harris as the Democratic nominee, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker similarly posted, “You think I just fell out of a coconut tree?”

Even Harris’ campaign is riffing on her viral moment. The bio of the @KamalaHQ account on social media site X states: “Providing context.”

— Josephine Rozzelle

Harris praised Biden during brief remarks at an NCAA celebration held on the South Lawn of the White House, her first public address since the president endorsed her to replace him in the race against Trump.

“President Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishments over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” Harris said. “We are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.”

It is rare for a vice president to hold events on the South Lawn of the White House. Vice presidents often host events at the Naval Observatory, the official vice presidential residence.

As Harris delivered her remarks, Biden was still isolating with Covid at his beach house in Delaware. Harris said Biden is “feeling much better and recovering fast.”

Biden is expected to address the nation about his decision to drop out of the presidential race later this week.

— Rebecca Picciotto

More than 300 of Harris’ allies, including dozens of her past bundlers from her failed 2020 Democratic primary campaign for president, huddled on a private Zoom call this morning to plot ways they can raise more money for the Harris campaign now that Biden has dropped out of the race.

The call, which lasted just more than 10 minutes, was organized by longtime Harris advisors Stephanie Daily Smith and Katie Prisco-Buxbaum.

Smith, Prisco-Buxbaum and Sheila Nix, Harris’ campaign chief of staff, were on the call. CNBC gained access to the call after receiving an invitation from a source.

Eleni Kounalakis, California’s lieutenant governor and a Harris supporter, was also on the call. “The invitation to join this call spans those who have been major, major bundlers to those who have been close friends,” said Kounalakis on the call.

Smith made it clear what she wants the group of more than 300 attendees to do: raise more money.

“Alright, I want to launch right into the purpose of the call,” said Smith. “A lot of people are asking right now ‘what can I do?’ ‘What do I need to do in order to make sure that we are doing whatever it takes to ensure the vice president is solidifying the nomination as quickly as possible?'”

“What I’m going to ask everybody on this call to do is to focus on giving your donations. Using the current [donation] link that you have,” she said.

“More importantly, we need every single person on this call to email elected officials and friends and contacts of Democratic organizations to ask them to support and to endorse the vice president for president. This is the most important time for us all to collaborate together and to unite together. The quicker we can unite, the quicker we can move forward,” said Smith.

The Harris campaign has said it has raised at least $50 million since Biden dropped out yesterday and endorsed Harris.

— Brian Schwartz

Kamala Harris is planning to head to the campaign’s headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, to say “hello” to staff, one day after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her to replace him.

— Rebecca Picciotto