Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party prodigious fundraising The operation raised more than $1 billion in its loss to Donald Trump, but the vice president is still pushing donors for more money after the election.
Democrats are sending persistent appeals to Harris supporters without expressly asking them to cover potential debts, luring potential donors with other issues: Republican president-elect elections for your next administration and a handful of pending legislative elections in which votes are still being counted.
“The Harris campaign certainly spent more than it raised and is now busy trying to raise money,” said Adrian Hemond, a Michigan Democratic strategist. He said the campaign asked him to help with fundraising after his loss to Trump.
The party is flooding Harris’ lucrative email donor list with almost daily appeals aimed at small donors, those whose contributions are measured in hundreds of dollars or less. But Hemond said the post-election effort also includes individual calls to larger donors.
The fight now underscores the expense of a failed effort and the immediate challenges Democrats face as they try to maintain a basic political operation to counter the Trump administration and prepare for the 2026 midterm elections. It also calls into question how the Democrats used their resources, including hosting events with musicians and other celebrities, as well as running ads in a variety of non-traditional spaces such as the domed Sphere in Las Vegas.
Internally, the apparent liquidity crisis is being blamed for the campaign’s decision to stop paying many top officials starting Saturday, even those who were initially told they would receive their payments through the end of the year. Faced with internal frustration, the campaign notified 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 condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.
Another person familiar with the Democratic National Committee’s fundraising effort and finances said the Harris campaign’s expected shortfall is a relatively small sum compared to the breadth of the campaign, which reported having $119 million in cash on hand at mid-October before the November 5 elections. . That person was not authorized to publicly discuss campaign finances and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Patrick Stauffer, Harris’ campaign finance director, said in a statement that there were “no outstanding debts or overdue bills” on Election Day and that “there will be no debt” to either the campaign or the Democratic National Committee in their upcoming elections. financial statements. , which will be presented to the Federal Electoral Commission in December.
The person familiar with the DNC’s campaign and finances said it was impossible to know exactly 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 has pending income; for example, from media organizations that must pay for their employees’ places on Air Force Two while traveling for the vice president’s campaign activities.
A few hours before Trump’s election Florida Republican Matt Gaetz For attorney general on Wednesday, Harris supporters received a call for more money for the “Harris Fight Fund,” citing Trump’s emerging team and its agenda.
Gaetz, who resigned his House seat after the announcement, “will use the Department of Justice as a weapon to protect himself,” the email said. He said Democrats “must stop them from carrying out Trump’s plans for revenge and retribution” and noted that “even his republican allies We are surprised by this Cabinet choice.
Another appeal on Harris’ behalf followed on Friday.
“The light of America’s promise will shine as long as we continue to fight,” the email said, adding that “there are still a number of critical races across the country that are too close to call or within margin of recounts or certain challenges.” “legal.”
The emails do not mention Harris’ campaign or her finances.
The “Harris Fight Fund” is a post-election label for the “Harris Victory Fund,” which is the joint fundraising operation of the Harris campaign, the DNC and state Democratic parties. Despite the language of the recent appeals, most contributions from grassroots donors would be sent to the national party, unless a donor took the time to contact the DNC directly and have the money go directly to Harris or to a state party.
The fine print at the end of the application explains that an individual’s first $41,300 and a political action committee’s first $15,000 would be allocated to the Democratic National Committee. The next $3,300 from an individual or $5,000 from a PAC would go to the Harris for President “Recount Account.” Anything above that threshold, up to maximum contribution limits that can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars, would be distributed among the state parties.
Officials at the Democratic National Committee, which will undergo a leadership change early next year, indicated the party has no plans to cover any shortfalls for Harris, but could not explicitly rule out the party transferring money to the campaign.