Joe Biden raised a jaw-dropping $26 million in the 24 hours after he named Kamala Harris as his running mate, doubling his previous one-day record and signaling enthusiasm among Democrats in the leadup to the November showdown with President Donald Trump.

“It’s really palpable, the excitement,” Biden said Wednesday.

One of Trump’s keys to victory on Election Day is the large enthusiasm gap between his supporters and Democrats. But also separating the Republican Party from Biden’s campaign is a massive fundraising gap.

While Trump maintains a large fundraising lead on Biden’s campaign, that gap has been shrinking recently. Every day, Democrats grow closer to matching, if not surpassing, the massive $300 million cash stockpile President Donald Trump and Republicans reported in July.

Harris is expected to play a key role in that effort. She joined Biden in Delaware on Wednesday for their first fundraiser together as running mates and encouraged donors to open their wallets.

“This is a campaign that really fuels my hope because it is about knowing that this is fighting for something and not against something and it’s fighting for the best we are as a nation,” Harris said. “It’s fighting for the best of who we can be.”

Lisa Hernandez Gioia, who was a deputy finance director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, called Harris’ connections to millionaires a “fundraiser’s dream.”

Harris already has a robust network of donors in her native California, a state that has long been referred to as the ATM of the Democratic Party. And she can rake in cash from Wall Street.

It’s a much needed boost to the Biden campaign. Before it was clear he would win the Democratic nomination, Biden was never a successful fundraiser.

Biden’s campaign was virtually broke the time he won the South Carolina primary, which revived his prospects and powered his way to the Democratic nomination. And while his clinching of the nomination has led to a flood of campaign contributions, some believe Harris can juice those totals even higher.

If Wednesday’s jaw-dropping fundraising totals are any evidence, Trump’s campaign has some work to do.

 

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The Associated Press contributed to this article