Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign pulled off a hat trick. After announcing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the official Democratic vice presidential candidate on Tuesday, the minds behind Harris’ marketing campaign moved fast, creating a camo-print cap with “Harris Walz” emblazoned on the front that turned into a merchandising phenomenon.
“They sold 25,000 hats in a few hours,” said Mitch Cahn to WWD. Cahn is the president and founder of Unionwear, the company manufacturing all merchandise from the Harris-Walz campaign.
“We were completely surprised by it. We’ve been in business for 32 years. We never had an instance where we made a sample in the morning and then they had sold a million dollars’ worth of hats by the next morning,” he said.
The Harris-Walz hat.
kamalaharris.com
The Harris-Walz camo-print hat was released for $40 on Tuesday afternoon at kamalaharris.com. By Wednesday, it was sold out. The hat is now only available for preorder and its shipping date has already been updated three times. Every hat purchase contributes to the Harris Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee supporting Harris’s presidential campaign and Democrats nationwide.
Part of the Harris-Walz hat craze can be connected to rising pop star Chappell Roan. Once the Democratic vice presidential candidate was announced, Gen Z created memes comparing Walz with Roan, who was born in Willard, Mo., and has her own version of the camo hat with the words “Midwest Princess” available on her official website.
“We’ve been making this camo hat for years for hunters, for people in the Midwest. The idea that this hat would appeal to fans of Chappell Roan and Midwestern hunters is probably why the campaign picked it, because it has a really, really broad appeal and brings people together,” Cahn said. “Obviously the sales and the demand for it and the excitement about the hat speak for itself.”
Tim Walz’s daughter, Hope, wore a sample of the hat after the Democratic presidential campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Wednesday. Bon Iver, who performed at the event, also sported the coveted accessory.
Kamala Harris, right, owner of “Volume One and The Local Store” Nick Meyer (second from right), singer Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Harris’ running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz talk inside the store in Eau Claire, Wis., Aug. 7, 2024.
AFP via Getty Images
Walz made his official campaign debut in Philadelphia on Tuesday. According to CBS, the campaign raised $36 million in the first 24 hours after Harris officially announced her running mate.
