100 days out, Dems are feeling something unusual: Optimism

PITTSFIELD, Massachusetts — Democrats are focused on what can be, unburdened by what has been.

Sunday marks the start of the final 100 day sprint until Election Day. But it also marked one week since President Joe Biden withdrew and handed the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris. And Democrats from across the country were giddy to talk about the suddenly transformed race for the White House.

It’s a dramatic turn for Democrats, who have spent the last month panicking over Biden’s candidacy and ability to beat former President Donald Trump. A disastrous debate led to weeks of party infighting, with dozens of Democratic lawmakers calling on the president to withdraw from the race amid fears that Biden at the top of the ticket would not only hand Trump a second term, but cost the party control in Congress and state governments.

"There's a burst of energy out here,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a possible running mate for Harris, said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning. “Joe Biden, we've heard it, delivered across the board on so many issues, but there's a new burst of energy. I was at a labor rally yesterday and I've not seen anything like this for 15 years.”

Despite the rosier outlook for Democrats, Harris is not the frontrunner. Republicans remain unified around Trump and most polls — while narrowing — still have him ahead nationally and in key states. And Trump had effectively erased his cash deficit before Biden dropped out of the race, and was leading the president even as Biden’s campaign outspent Trump 6 to 1 .

Still, the party rank-and-file is suddenly much more engaged in the election. A Wall Street Journal poll released on Friday evening found that 81 percent of Harris voters say they are enthusiastic to support her — compared to just 37 percent of then-Biden supporters in a poll from the Journal earlier this month.

That enthusiasm is also translating into cash. The Harris campaign raised $200 million since she took the top of the ticket. Two-thirds of the donations were from first time donors. And outside the money, 170,000 people have signed up to volunteer for the campaign.

Vice presidential hopefuls flooded the Sunday shows this week, praising Harris’ as the party leader who sparked this new excitement.

“It's a level of energy that frankly I have not seen on the campaign trail in a long time,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on “Fox News Sunday.”

”Our candidate is the Energizer Bunny,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker agreed on ABC’s “This Week.” “She’s been everywhere all the time over the last several days, and we’re excited about that, to get to see her in the battleground states and all over the country.”

Battleground state Democratic parties across the country are already trying to jump on the newfound energy. In memos that will be distributed Monday and were shared early exclusively with POLITICO, state Democratic leaders are highlighting the fundraising and volunteering blitz in key parties and using the buzz to help in down ballot races. The memos are being distributed in six battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

“With strong Democratic candidates, renewed energy across the ticket, record-breaking fundraising, enthusiastic grassroots support, targeted investments from national partners, and a well-oiled coordinated campaign emphasizing our party’s strengths and innovative programs, along with Republicans running on their toxic Project 2025 agenda with convicted felon Donald Trump at the top of the ticket, there’s never been a better time to get involved in our state party,” wrote Yolanda Bejaron , the Arizona Democratic Party chair.

Even the attacks against Republicans have taken on a lighter tone. Rather than highlighting Trump and his running mate JD Vance as “a threat to democracy,” which was generally the calling card under Biden, Democrats have shifted to talking about how the two are “weird.” It’s something Walz started a few weeks ago that now has become a viral talking point for Democrats who want to highlight the “weird” rhetoric Trump has on the campaign trail.

Democratic enthusiasm for the party’s likely new standard-bearer was also on full display on Saturday in Massachusetts, where Harris headlined her first major fundraiser since launching her presidential campaign. The star-studded event — which featured a joint performance from James Taylor, Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax and counted former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick among its hosts — drew roughly 800 attendees and raised well over $1.4 million for Harris’ political operation , more than triple organizers’ initial goal.

“May our ardent support be the wind in her sails,” Taylor, the famed singer-songwriter, said as he introduced Harris to an extended standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who spoke at the event, told POLITICO beforehand that Harris provides an “X factor” that “the political experts did not predict would be a part of this campaign” but that is now fueling excitement within the party that is “really growing.”

Jocelyn Chapman, a Democrat from Adams, Massachusetts, said she had purchased a ticket for the fundraiser before Biden dropped out in large part to see the musical performances and hear from historian Heather Cox Richardson, who was also part of the event’s lineup.

But as she waited for Harris to take the stage on Saturday, Chapman said: “I’m so excited, just like everybody else. Everything just flipped on a dime.”

Mia McCarthy reported from Washington. Lisa Kashinsky reported from Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Shia Kapos and Isabella Ramírez contributed to this report.