Harris has a daunting to-do list as she embarks on a presidential campaign

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a daunting to-do list. Vice President Kamala Harris suddenly has to build a presidential campaign almost from scratch.

It’s a process that typically takes months, even years. Harris has only about two months before early voting begins. And of course, nothing is guaranteed, despite her endorsement from President Joe Biden — and key parts of his campaign — after he dropped out of the race on Sunday.

That means she’s scrambling to raise money, come up with a strategy, hire staff, set up a website, shoot some ads, plan a convention, and so on. The checklist is long, but by Monday morning, at least she had a campaign logo.

And Harris has a big advantage, as she is already on the Democratic ticket as the vice presidential nominee and previously ran for president in 2020. With a boost from Biden’s endorsement, she has gained enough delegate support to become her party’s nominee.

“It’s less difficult to do it with Harris, who has already been on the national stage,” said Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher.

She has to bring in money.

Even though the campaign is something of a start-up, Harris has an advantage. That’s thanks to the existing Biden campaign infrastructure she’ll inherit. There are already campaign offices in Wilmington, Delaware. The official campaign committee is named after her, according to Federal Election Commission filings. She can retain much of Biden’s campaign staff and bring in her own.

“Campaigns are basically startups with hundreds of millions of dollars, with hundreds of staff members, all trying to do a lot of things in a very short period of time,” said Joe Caiazzo, who served as New Hampshire state director for Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential bid. “And there’s a whole Democratic operating class standing by and waiting.”

But perhaps most important is money: As of early July, the campaign committee had nearly $96 million in cash on hand, allowing her to launch without waiting for checks to come in. And her rise has generated fresh enthusiasm after Biden’s June 27 debate debacle shook the confidence of Democratic supporters and voters. Within a day of receiving Biden’s endorsement, Harris had raised $81 million, the largest 24-hour haul by a campaign this year, her team said.

There are also independent committees that support each campaign and are also increasing their spending. But Harris enters the race with Republican Donald Trump enjoying some financial momentum, with his campaign reporting $128.1 million in cash on hand.

She needs to make sure Biden’s representatives are there.

It takes 1,976 delegates to win the Democratic nomination. Harris has more than that. Biden’s quick exit allows the delegates he won in the primary process to support whoever they want. This is where endorsements from lawmakers and key Democratic allies matter.

The AFL-CIO unanimously endorsed Harris on Monday, after previously backing Biden and Harris as a joint ticket. It’s a major show of support from a large Democratic bloc, given that the AFL-CIO is made up of 60 unions representing 12.5 million workers.

Several prominent Democrats who were seen as presidential candidates have come out in support of Harris, a likely sign that their state delegates will follow suit, if they haven’t already.

Harris has already received endorsements from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. She also has the support of Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

These endorsements also matter as Harris searches for a vice presidential candidate to compete with Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Trump’s Republican running mate.

A running mate must be chosen.

In 2020, Biden announced Harris as his running mate on August 11. To meet that deadline, Harris would theoretically have less than three weeks to make her own choice. She had previously agreed to debate Vance on August 13, though the two candidates never agreed on terms. But Harris could also extend her vice presidential bid until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which begins on August 19.

Unlike in 2020, Harris won’t be able to go through the same extensive vetting process that Biden’s team did with its interviews and research. It’s unclear where Harris is in that process, but vice presidential candidates typically exist to balance out the top of the ticket and help rally important voting blocs.

She makes advertisements and organizes meetings.

Biden’s campaign had been running ads, all aimed at positioning the president as the best man to take on Trump. The ads focused on abortion access, Trump’s policies and Trump’s conviction in New York. With Biden out of the race, Harris must create her own identity, even as she defends the president’s record in office.

Likewise, Harris will need to campaign much more aggressively as the top of the ticket. Biden has visited Pennsylvania nine times this year, Wisconsin five times, Michigan four times, North Carolina four times and Georgia three times. These are all states that the campaign saw as reelection paths for Biden before the June 27 debate, a task that now falls to Harris.

She needs to build an online presence.

According to FEC filings, her official campaign website is kamalaharris.com.

It’s not the first link that pops up when someone Googles her name. But the address is in the profile of her personal account on X, formerly Twitter. It’s also where users are directed when they try to access Biden’s former campaign website.

For now, Harris’ site is a placeholder. There’s a photo of her smiling in profile, the text of Biden’s endorsement and a form to donate to her campaign.

She’ll have to build something bigger. Trump’s campaign site includes his policy platform, videos, news updates, a schedule of events, ways to get involved and lots of merchandise. That kind of setup is needed in part so Harris supporters can organize and network across the country.

Harris also needs to tailor social media platforms to her needs so she can easily draw audiences to her campaign events.

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AP writers Chris Megerian and Will Weissert contributed to this report.