When Vice President Kamala Harris received an endorsement from President Biden, little did political experts expect it would usher in a new form of political fundraising.
Almost immediately after Biden ended his presidential campaign and threw his support to Kamala Harris, a quickly organized Zoom call dubbed “Black Women for Harris” shattered expectations by drawing more than 44,000 online participants. Within hours, the online call raised $1.5 million.
Emulating black women, White Women: Answer The Call! Show up for Kamala Harris” had a Zoom meetup attracting 200,000 participants, the largest Zoom call ever, raising $11 million. There was even White Dudes for Harris led by the "Dude" from the Big Lebowski, Jeff Bridges raising $4 million.
Now there's a new group, AANHPI Men for Kamala Harris, launched by San Francisco District Attorney David Chiu. It has already drawn the support of a "who's Who" of AANHPI politicians and celebrities including actors Ken Jeong and BD Wong, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and LA-area Congressmember Ted Lieu.
“We are organizing AANHPI men to follow the lead of our sisters and support the election of our first woman President who would also be America's first President of Asian and African descent,” organizers said in their announcement. “On Wednesday, August 7th, at 5pm PST / 8pm EST, we are hosting a virtual event with AANHPI elected officials, celebrities, and community leaders and invite you to join us.”
The use of Zoom, Tik Tok, Instagram and Yahoo is perhaps may be an excellent way to connect with AANHIPI audiences. Compared to other ethnicities, AANHIPI people are particularly are the most plugged into the internet and adept at using social media, according to a Niesen report.
"Social media can help the campaign for a presidential candidate because it is inherently not tied to geography, so it means that they can reach people across the country who maybe will vote for them," Macdonald says in Inc.com. "I think for a lot of young people who are probably the ones being reached by these video-based platforms, the campaign is helping lower the barrier for entry for people to be engaged...even if they're giving $5 right now, that means that their likelihood of voting is no longer zero."
Harris’ team announced earlier that it took in more than $200 million during her first week as a presidential candidate and entered August with $377 million in cash on hand, which it described as the most for any presidential candidate at this point in the cycle
“The tremendous outpouring of support we’ve seen in just a short time makes clear the Harris coalition is mobilized, growing, and ready to put in the work to defeat Trump this November,” Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. “Our money is going to the work that wins close elections.”
Now there's a new group, AANHPI Men for Kamala Harris, launched by San Francisco District Attorney David Chiu. It has already drawn the support of a "who's Who" of AANHPI politicians and celebrities including actors Ken Jeong and BD Wong, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and LA-area Congressmember Ted Lieu.
“We are organizing AANHPI men to follow the lead of our sisters and support the election of our first woman President who would also be America's first President of Asian and African descent,” organizers said in their announcement. “On Wednesday, August 7th, at 5pm PST / 8pm EST, we are hosting a virtual event with AANHPI elected officials, celebrities, and community leaders and invite you to join us.”
FYI: Register for the AANHPI Men for Harris. It is free to join."This is relatively unique to now, and I imagine the reason it's working for the Harris campaign is because there's a groundswell of mass enthusiasm from online people, and the way to most effectively reach them is through YouTube Live or Zoom or whatever interactive video platform there is," says University of Kentucky political scientist Maggie Macdonald tells INC.com. "It also helps for her campaign that there are a lot of celebrities who are opting in. It is a much lower ask to get them to join a video call than to have them be in a particular city at a particular time."
"Social media can help the campaign for a presidential candidate because it is inherently not tied to geography, so it means that they can reach people across the country who maybe will vote for them," Macdonald says in Inc.com. "I think for a lot of young people who are probably the ones being reached by these video-based platforms, the campaign is helping lower the barrier for entry for people to be engaged...even if they're giving $5 right now, that means that their likelihood of voting is no longer zero."
Chiu predicted on Instagram that the call will draw "thousands" of AANHPI men.
“The tremendous outpouring of support we’ve seen in just a short time makes clear the Harris coalition is mobilized, growing, and ready to put in the work to defeat Trump this November,” Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. “Our money is going to the work that wins close elections.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge
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