Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's campaign has raised $48 million in the 48 hours after it called the United States. Senator Kamala Harris the Democratic vice presidential candidate, a spokeswoman for the campaign told Reuters late Thursday.
Biden, himself a former vice president, selected Harris as his nominee for VP on Tuesday, making her the first Black woman on a US presidential major party ticket.
With civil protests over racial inequality rocking the nation for months after an African-American man's death in custody, George Floyd was under pressure to pick a Black woman as his running mate after a police officer knelt on his back for about nine minutes.
Harris, a 55-year-old California senator who has made her own bid for the White House, is also the first Asian-American on a big ticket to the presidency. Her parents were immigrants, her Indian mother and her Jamaican father.
When elected in 2016, she became only the second Black female U.S. senator in history, and would be counted on to help unite African-Americans, the most loyal base of the Democratic Party.
Four years ago, the first dip in 20-year Black voter turnout led to the surprise defeat of Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential election to Donald Trump.
Harris, a former California prosecutor and state attorney general, is known in the Senate for her often hostile style of questioning.
As a presidential candidate, in a nationally televised debate, she brought Biden to task over his previous positions on mandatory busing for students as a way of degregating schools.
A running mate's option has added importance for Biden, 77, who if elected will be the oldest person to become president.
His age has contributed to rumors that he will serve only one term, making Harris a likely Democratic nomination top contender in 2024.
In July, Biden and his campaign- related groups raised $140 million.