Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party’s massive fundraising operation raised more than $1 billion in her loss to Donald Trump, but the vice president is still pressing donors for more money after the election.
Democrats are sending persistent appeals to Harris supporters without explicitly asking them to cover any potential debt, tempting potential donors instead with other matters: the Republican president-elect’s picks for his next administration and a handful of pending congressional contests where the polls are still being held. It has been calculated.
“The Harris campaign certainly spent more than it raised and is now busy trying to fundraise,” said Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist from Michigan. He said that after its loss to Trump, the campaign asked him to help raise funds.
The party floods Harris’ lucrative email donor list with near-daily appeals targeting small-dollar donors — those whose contributions are measured in hundreds of dollars or less. But post-election efforts also include individual calls to larger donors, Haymond said.
The scramble now highlights the cost involved in the losing effort and the immediate challenges facing Democrats as they try to maintain a basic political process to confront the Trump administration and prepare for the 2026 midterm elections. It also raises questions about how Democrats are using their resources, including hosting events with musicians. and other celebrities, in addition to running ads in a variety of unconventional places such as the domed Sphere in Las Vegas.
Internally, an apparent cash crunch is being blamed for the campaign’s decision to stop paying several senior staff as of Saturday, even those who were initially told they would be paid until the end of the year. Facing internal frustration, the campaign informed those affected in recent days that their health insurance would be covered through the end of the year, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.
Get daily national news
Get the day’s top political, economic and current affairs news, headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Another person familiar with the Democratic National Committee’s fundraising efforts and finances said Harris’ campaign’s projected deficit is a relatively small amount compared to the breadth of the campaign, which reported having $119 million in cash in mid-October ahead of the Nov. 5 election. . This person was not authorized to discuss campaign finances publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Patrick Stover, Harris’ campaign finance director, said in a statement that there were “no outstanding debts or past due bills” on Election Day and “there will be no debts” listed for either the campaign or the Democratic National Committee in its next financial disclosures. , which the Federal Election Commission is scheduled to hold in December.
The person familiar with the campaign and the Democratic National Committee’s finances said it’s impossible to know where Harris’ balance sheet currently stands. The campaign still receives invoices from vendors for events and other services near the end of the race. The campaign also contains outstanding receipts; For example, media organizations must pay for their employees’ places on Air Force One while they travel to participate in the Vice President’s campaign activities.
Within hours of Trump selecting Florida Republican Matt Gaetz as attorney general on Wednesday, Harris supporters received a call for more money for the “Harris Fight Fund,” citing Trump’s emerging team and his agenda.
The email said that Gaetz, who resigned from his House seat after the announcement, “will use the Department of Justice as a weapon to protect itself.” She said Democrats “must be stopped from carrying out Trump’s plans for retaliation and retaliation,” and noted that “even his Republican allies are shocked by this” Cabinet pick.
That was followed by another appeal on Friday in Harris’ name.
“The light of American promise will shine as long as we keep fighting,” the email said, adding that “there remain a number of crucial races across the country that are either very close, by a recount margin, or certain.” Legal challenges.”
The emails did not mention Harris’ campaign or its finances.
The “Harris Fight Fund” is the post-election designation of the “Harris Victory Fund,” a joint fundraising operation for the Harris campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and state Democratic parties. Despite the language of recent appeals, most contributions from regular donors will be directed to the national party, unless the donor takes the time to contact the Democratic National Committee directly and sends the money directly to Harris or a state member.
The fine print at the bottom of the petition states that the first $41,300 from someone and the first $15,000 from the political action committee will go to the Democratic National Committee. The next $3,300 from the person or $5,000 from the political action committee will go to Chairman Harris’ “recount account.” Anything above this threshold, even maximum contribution limits that can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars, will be distributed across state parties.
Officials with the NDP, which is scheduled to undergo a leadership change early next year, indicated that the party has no plans to cover any shortfalls for Harris, but they could not explicitly rule out the party diverting any funds to the campaign.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
