The “victory” part didn’t work for the Harris Victory Fund. But the funding portion is still alive and well in the bank statements of some Democratic donors.
Two months after Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump, the joint fundraising committee her campaign created with the Democratic National Committee is still charging the committee from monthly recurring donors. And some donors are not happy.
“It’s foolish, out of touch, and unnecessarily taking advantage of our most loyal supporters,” said one Democratic operative who shared screenshots of his donations. The person was granted anonymity to describe the situation without fear of professional reprisal.
The agent was unfazed by a charge in December, given the final expenses associated with any campaign (although Harris’ camp entered at the end of November with more than $1.8 million in cash).
but a January carry? The Harris donor said the committee did not ask for any explicit approval to continue donations after the election, although it sent emails saying, “Thank you for your generous monthly commitment” and that donations will continue “until you contact us.” .
Ongoing debits are the latest dispute over the ethics of online fundraising, particularly when it comes to signing up small donors for recurring contributions with credit cards put on autopilot.
Trump’s 2020 campaign raised piles of cash in part by making it increasingly difficult for donors to see that they were signing up for monthly automatic donations, even by hiding it in pre-checked boxes hidden in small print. Those tactics helped generate more than half a million refunds totaling $64 million during the final two and a half months of 2020 from the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and joint committees, far outstripping their Democratic counterparts.
The Harris Victory Fund situation is different: No one seems to question that they signed up for monthly withdrawals. But should those contributions continue even after the victory has faded?
Harris herself told Democrats that “stay in the fight”said a Democratic National Committee official. And while a Harris Victory Fund donation page stay active on ActBluethe fund itself no longer exists and any contributions go directly to the Democratic National Committee.
“Those HVF donations will help Democrats across the country as we rebuild the party,” the official said, adding that donors can cancel them at any time.
However, the fact that the funds are now being redirected raises another ethical dilemma: Is that fair to the donors who contributed to an entity that bears Harris’ name? The soon-to-be former vice president will not have access to the money while she evaluates her political future and whether to run again for president, governor of California or stay out of politics.
For many political professionals, that’s one of the many reasons why it should be good practice to stop withdrawing funds from donors’ bank accounts after Election Day.
A senior digital official for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign said all of his recurring donations ended within days of his loss. That person said the Harris fund’s decision to continue tapping small-dollar donors was “super shady” and amounted to a “scam.”
“These people didn’t sign up to pay bills in January,” the Republican said.
Mike Nellis, director of the Democratic online fundraising firm Authentic, said that when his clients’ campaigns end in defeat, “there’s an expectation that they’ll shut down recurring donations because there’s no need.”
But he said he was fine with the Democratic National Committee continuing to withdraw donations from Harris donors.
“If you are involving the committee in something that will continue to have an impact, like the Democratic National Committee or another political campaign, I am more than comfortable continuing with recurring donations as long as it is transparent to the donor and complies with ActBlue and the FEC,” said.
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