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Now that the speeches are all over and the balloons swept away, two major questions remain for the Democrats in the aftermath of last week\u2019s convention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first regards the poll bump Kamala Harris can expect coming out of Chicago, which may likely take time before data provides a definitive figure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The second is the amount of money she and running mate Tim Walz were able to haul in\u2014and here at least there\u2019s an answer that might prove surprising.<\/p>\n
Harris campaign manager Jen O\u2019Malley Dillon revealed on Sunday it raised $82 million during the nearly weeklong affair. Adjusted for\u00a0inflation<\/a>, that\u2019s\u00a0less<\/em>\u00a0than the\u00a0$70 million<\/a>\u00a0Biden managed four years ago during a convention held in the middle of the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n This also puts it just shy of the\u00a0$85 million<\/a>\u00a0the Republicans took in last month during their rival convention in Milwaukee. The latter did however take place under unusual circumstances, coming immediately on the heel of the\u00a0assassination attempt<\/a>\u00a0on nominee Donald Trump.\u00a0<\/p>\n In total, the Harris campaign said it has raised\u00a0$540 million<\/a>\u00a0since she declared in July 21, one-third of which it claims comes from first-time donors. This would suggest Harris is reaching voters Biden couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the most ever for any presidential campaign in this time span,\u201d O\u2019Malley Dillon said, according to a\u00a0Reuters <\/em>report<\/a>.<\/p>\n The figures cannot be verified independently as yet, but both campaigns have to file monthly updates on their fundraising with the Federal Election Commission. That means there\u2019s little incentive to play fast and loose with these estimates.<\/p>\n While nationwide polls suggest Harris is enjoying a minor advantage to Trump, it is well within the margin of error and both have multiple paths by which they can win the necessary 270 electoral college votes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Most experts believe the eventual victor will be whoever locks up Pennsylvania\u2019s\u00a019 electoral votes<\/a>\u00a0by winning in deep purple communities such as\u00a0Erie county<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to data from AdImpact cited by CNN\u00a0last week<\/a>, spending in the Keystone State by both campaigns since Harris joined the race last month dwarfs that of any other battleground, coming in at roughly twice the amount spent in Michigan and Georgia.<\/p>\n The economy is once again expected to play a major role come election day, with many Americans\u00a0feeling<\/em>\u00a0poorer despite a U.S. economy that has outperformed all its peers, sparking the term \u201cvibecession<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n While Trump is focusing on familiar issues like\u00a0extending his 2017 tax cut<\/a>\u00a0and imposing a punitive tariff of 60% on goods\u00a0imported from China<\/a>, Harris is countering with a\u00a0plan to tax unrealized capital gains for the ultra-wealthy<\/a>\u00a0and clamp down on corporate price gouging and \u201cgreedflation<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nCampaigns flood Pennsylvania with ads <\/h2>\n