‘Her extraordinary origin story could help expand the base’: Diverse donors race to help Harris make history

If elected, Harris could be the first woman, the first Indian American, the first Asian, the first Black woman and the first person of Jamaican descent to ascend to the presidency.

Kamala Harris stands on the threshold of history. If elected to succeed President Joe Biden, Harris – the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother – would not only be the first woman, but the first Indian American, the first Asian, the first Black woman and the first person of Jamaican descent to ascend to the office. And Democratic-aligned donors from all those worlds are eager to help Harris get there. “Her multiple identities is actually her superpower in this moment,” said Glynda Carr, the CEO of Higher Heights for America, a group focused on growing Black women’s political power. Carr, like Harris, is a part of the storied Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., whose members swiftly donated checks in amounts of $19.08 to Biden’s campaign in 2020 to signal their approval of his vice-presidential pick. That figure marks the year of the sorority’s founding at Harris’ alma mater, Howard University. Her sorority sisters are messaging with their money once again: More than 1,500 contributions of exactly $19.08 each have hit the campaign’s accounts between Sunday afternoon – when Biden exited the 2024 presidential race – and Monday evening, according to a source familiar with Harris’ fundraising.