Democratic Billionaires and Donors Rush to Back Harris After Biden’s Exit

Democratic donors are immediately mobilizing around Kamala Harris as their party’s next presidential nominee, offering Democratic elites something they have not felt in weeks.

Optimism.

Advisers and major givers said on Sunday that they were being inundated with enthusiasm and word of planned donations to support Ms. Harris if she became the official Democratic candidate.

Multiple Biden donors and their advisers said that they were hearing from previously despondent donors who were ready to give to support a Harris-led ticket. One Silicon Valley bundler raised over $1 million in a 30-minute period, the person shared.

Alexandra Acker-Lyons, a Democratic donor-adviser who has spent the last few days behind the scenes trying to raise pledges for Ms. Harris, said that she had “gotten a barrage of emails, texts and calls” with promises to give. “People who hadn’t given at all asking where to give,” she said.

The endorsements came in hard and fast on Sunday afternoon from the Democratic Party’sbillionaire donors. Reid Hoffman, the Democratic mega-donor who was among Mr. Biden’s strongest supporters over the last few weeks amid the chaos, endorsed Ms. Harris for the presidency. Another major billionaire backer of Mr. Biden, Alex Soros, said he was endorsing her as well.The nods also came from Democratic groups. Way to Win, a major Democratic donor group with many members who are partial to Ms. Harris, said that they were backing her.

“Way to Win is going all-in behind Harris, President Biden’s chosen successor,” said Jen Fernandez Ancona, one of the group’s co-founders. “She embodies the passing of a torch to a new generation at a time when that is desperately needed to shore up our diverse, winning coalition.”