Local News

Harris set to headline Pittsfield fundraiser

Vice President Kamala Harris will appear at an event in the Berkshires on Saturday as she tries to build on her campaign's early momentum.

Vice President Kamala Harris. Daniel Steinle/Bloomberg

July 26, 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris is once again headed to Massachusetts for a high-profile fundraiser.

Last weekend, she headlined an event in Provincetown to drum up support for President Joe Biden. One week—and a consequential decision by Biden—later, Harris is set to appear at a private fundraiser in Pittsfield on Saturday, a campaign official confirmed.

She will undoubtedly continue to make the case against Donald Trump and maintain her nascent campaign’s early momentum.

The event’s exact time and location have not been made public, and tickets sold out quickly, WBUR reported.

“We don’t, in the Berkshires, get the opportunity to have those experiences as often as other places. And so, when it becomes a possibility, it really gathers a lot of excitement,” Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti told WBUR.

Musicians James Taylor, Yo-Yo Ma, and Emanuel Ax will be featured, alongside historian Heather Cox Richardson, according to multiple reports.

Hosting a vice president was always going to be a big deal for a city like Pittsfield, but Harris’s profile has risen even more since becoming the presumptive nominee for her party. In the wake of that change, and the attempted assassination of Trump, security is expected to be intense.

“We’re going to be utilizing any and all available resources.” Police Chief Thomas Dawley told The Berkshire Eagle.

The Harris Victory Fund had received $1.4 million in donations and pledges related to the event as of Wednesday night, according to the Eagle.

Last weekend’s fundraiser in Provincetown raised more than $2 million, doubling a $1 million fundraising goal that had been set.

The Pittsfield event is being co-hosted by former Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick, former state Rep. Sherwood Guernsey, and former Pittsfield Mayor Evan Dobelle and his wife Kit Dobelle, according to the Eagle.

After Biden’s decision to step aside Democrats have lined up to support Harris. The party’s base appears energized, and new polling from New Hampshire shows Harris making gains with independents who had strayed away from Biden following his debate performance. She received the endorsement of Barack and Michelle Obama Friday.