Joe Biden accepts Democratic nomination: ‘Ally of the light’
Former Vice President Joe Biden is promising to guide America out of what he calls ‘this season of darkness’; Peter Doocy reports.
It remains to be seen if Joe Biden gets a bounce in the polls coming out of the Democratic National Convention, but the party’s presidential nominee did get boost in his fundraising.
The former vice president’s campaign announced on Friday that it, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and their joint fundraising committees brought in $70 million in fundraising this week, during the 4-day quadrennial national convention. The Biden campaign held numerous grassroots and high dollar fundraising events during through out the week.
BIDEN, HARRIS, BRING IN $48 MILLION IN 48 HOURS AFTER RUNNING MATE ANNOUNCEMENT
The staggering haul comes a week after the Biden campaign announced that it raised $48 million in the 48 hours after Biden announced Sen. Kamala Harris of California as his running mate.
The campaign also touted on Friday that the convention was watched by roughly 122 million viewers -- including 85.1 million on TV and 35.5 million livestream views. After the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation – which has prevented large gatherings of people in order to limit the spread of the virus, the Democratic Party scrapped their plans for a tradition convention held in a packed arena full of officials, lawmakers, delegates and activists – and instead held a nearly entirely virtual event.
“We reimagined and reinvented our convention to reach, engage, and mobilize Americans everywhere while showcasing Joe Biden’s positive, hopeful, and bold vision for the country,” Biden campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, with Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., raise their arms up as fireworks go off in the background during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del. Looking on are Jill Biden, far left, and Harris' husband Doug Emhoff, far right. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The campaign cash haul appears to be a healthy increase over what was raised during the 2016 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Philadelphia. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the DNC raised nearly $90 million during the entire month July, 2016 – which included the week of the party’s convention.
The Biden campaign, the DNC, and their joint fundraising committees combined hauled in $140 million last month. The former vice president’s campaign also touted that they have a $294 million in cash on hand as of the end of July, an increase of $50 million in their coffers from the previous month.
President Trump’s reelection campaign reported that they, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and their joint fundraising committees combined brought in $165 million in contributions in August. They also touted that they had more than $300 million cash on hand as of the end of July.
The president’s been raising money for his reelection bid since entering the White House three-and-a-half years ago. And the reelection effort’s hauled in an unprecedented $1.1 billion the past two years.
The former vice president, who declared his candidacy in April of last year, struggled to bring in cash for much of his campaign. He raised just $8.9 million in January and $18 million in February. But he saw his fundraising spike starting in March, as he became the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination and much of the party coalesced around his White House bid. Biden became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in April, as his last remaining primary rival – Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont – dropped out of the race and backed the former vice president.
The Biden campaign surge in fundraising the past couple of months – it narrowly outraised the Trump campaign in May and June – helped it trim the president’s once-massive cash-on-hand advantage.
Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report
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