Kamala Harris Pushes To Raise Funds In Crowded 2020 Presidential Race

When Senator Kamala Harris speaks on Saturday at the Human Rights Campaigns dinner in Los Angeles, she will be sandwiching it into a prolific schedule of fundraising this weekend as Sunday night at midnight is the first deadline of the 2020 US presidential race.

The Democratic presidential candidate of Indian and Jamaican descent, would be at four of these fundraising events. Sunday midnight is the end of the first quarter, and two weeks later campaigns will have to publicly report how much they raised in January, February and April and who gave it to them, variety.com reported.

A number of showbiz donors say that they want to meet the candidates and see who emerges from the still-growing field, including former Vice President Joseph Biden, who has yet to announce whether he will run but who would likely be a top draw among Hollywood's veteran political players.

Ms Harris has been the most prolific in courting high-dollar donors at traditional fundraising receptions. She will be hoping to drive up her total. On Saturday, she is scheduled to attend a reception at the Pacific Palisades home of writer-producer-director Jenni Konner and writer-director Richard Shepard, with tickets starting at $1,000-per-person. Co-hosts include Ali Adler, Jessica Alba, Mindy Kaling, Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Shauna Weiss.

It will measure her campaign's strength, viability and interest, and Ms Harris is likely to lead other candidates in the money primary when it comes to the amount she has raised from showbiz sources.

Other candidates -- Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who is enjoying a publicity surge as the 2020 favorite longshot, was here on Friday attending private meetings before appearing on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher".

Earlier in March, he was at Hillcrest Country Club, as part of a series of meet-and-greets with a group of LA donors.

Senator Cory Booker also last week did a swing through Los Angeles and raised money at four different fundraisers.

Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders have focused almost solely on raising huge sums online.

But Ms Harris has a head start in the money primary. She's bypassing the introductory meet-and-greets that have been common in the past few months in favour of events where attendees are sure to write checks.