This article was first published in the On the Trail 2024 newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox on Tuesday and Friday mornings here. To submit a question to next week’s Friday Mailbag, email onthetrail@deseretnews.com.
Hello, friends. I overheard a debate this week — in the Target frozen food aisle, of all places — over whether Joe Biden or Jimmy Carter would live longer. (Carter is still alive and well, despite reports to the contrary.)
3 things to know
- Harris is inching toward her VP pick, according to reporting from our Gitanjali Poonia. The Harris team has vetted a long list of potential running mates: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Read more here.
- Are faith groups facilitating the border crisis? That’s what Texas’ AG argues. I went to the border to find out — and found an impressive Catholic group doing its best to extend Christlike love to new arrivals to the U.S. “It’s not a ‘border crisis,’” Sister Norma Pimentel, the group’s leader, told me. “It may be a humanitarian crisis, but not a border crisis. The crisis is the fact that we can actually give ourselves permission to turn our backs on a human person that is suffering.” Read more here.
- JD Vance was in Reno this week, and he doubled down on Trump’s promise to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. “If you are in this country illegally,” Vance said, “start packing your bags right now.” Brigham Tomco was on the ground; read his story here. Brigham did some great reporting on the Nevada Senate race, too, which is one of a handful of tossup races that could decide control of Congress. Read that one here.
The big idea
The most expensive election ever
The 2024 election has been called many things. The most consequential. The most chaotic. The most “brat.”
Superlatives of this type are hard to quantify. But by a matter of simple math, this election is shaping up to be historic: It’s on track to be the most expensive election ever.
In the days since Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris, the vice president has hauled in record amounts of money. In the first 24 hours after Biden’s announcement, money donated to Harris’ campaign, the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees topped $81 million, an all-time U.S. presidential campaign record.
The total far surpassed other fundraising sprees this cycle. In the two days following his felony conviction, the Trump campaign and his adjacent super PACs raked in $69 million. In the two days after his disastrous June 27 debate, Biden raised $28 million. At a star-studded New York fundraiser in March, Biden raised a then-record $25 million. Less than a month later, Trump brought in over $50 million at a Florida fundraiser.
All of those sums, at the time, were mind-boggling. Now, the nascent Harris campaign has raised the bar for campaign fundraising. Over its first week in operation, the Harris campaign brought in a staggering $200 million, it says.
For reference: The 2020 Biden-Harris campaign became the first U.S. presidential campaign ever to raise $1 billion over the course of a presidential election. In her first week, Harris brought in one-fifth of that.
The fundraising spree is so astronomical, The Washington Post reports, that one Democratic donor decided not to donate, because the “money flooding into Democratic coffers at this point” would make his donation “inconsequential.”
“Whatever money I have would be like pouring coffee in a full coffee cup,” the donor said. “So it is what it is. Now we just hold our breath.”
Harris’ huge haul has heightened the stakes for the Trump campaign, which continues to report significant fundraising totals. On Thursday, the Trump campaign announced $138 million raised in July, pushing its cash on hand to $327 million.
As we reported last week, Trump will visit Utah for a fundraiser on Aug. 29, and the entry price is no joke: It will cost you $10,000 to get inside the door, and an extra $25,000 if you want a photo with Trump. To be a co-host, it will cost $150,000; to join the host committee, $500,000.
To date, they have already secured $6 million in commitments, one organizer told me, inching them toward their goal of a $10 million fundraising haul.
Weekend reads
Trump now knows who his November opponent will be. After building a campaign apparatus to take down Biden, they retool to attack Harris. That was the plan at this week’s National Association of Black Journalists conference: Slam Harris on immigration and paint her a “radical.” Instead, Trump went off-script, to his detriment: All people remember are his remarks about Harris’ race and his inability to invoke trust in his VP choice. Trump and his allies had a plan for how to hit Harris. Then he opened his mouth. (Natalie Allison and Alex Insenstadt)
Is Harris a “DEI hire”? That’s the argument Republicans are trying to make to discredit her — but according to this essay, it’s completely besides the point. If Republicans want to beat Harris, a far better strategy, as argued here, is to give her the primary she never had — and make her answer to her record as vice president, as senator and as California attorney general. “Harris has never stopped being a San Francisco politician. Republicans should remind the public of that and ask Wisconsin residents: Are you ready to become California?” Republicans, You’re Going After Kamala All Wrong (Abigal Shrier, The Free Press)
Who performed better on the economy: Biden or Trump? This fact-check is helpful, breaking down the two presidents’ gains on inflation, prices, interest rates and more. Measuring the Economy Under Donald Trump and Joe Biden (Alex Demas, The Dispatch)
See you on the trail.
Editor’s Note: The Deseret News is committed to covering issues of substance in the 2024 presidential race from its unique perspective and editorial values. Our team of political reporters will bring you in-depth coverage of the most relevant news and information to help you make an informed decision. Find our complete coverage of the election here.