Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party’s massive fundraising effort cost Donald Trump more than $1 billion, but the vice president is still asking donors for more money after the election.
Democrats are making persistent appeals to Harris supporters without explicitly asking them to pay off their potential debt, instead luring would-be donors toward other causes. These include the Republican president-elect’s choice for the next administration and a handful of congressional contests that are still being voted on. It has been counted.
“The Harris campaign has clearly spent more money than it has raised and is busy raising money right now,” said Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist from Michigan. He said he was asked by the campaign to help raise money after his loss to Trump.
The party has been flooding Harris’ lucrative email donor list with near-daily appeals targeting small donors measured in the hundreds of dollars or less. But Hemond said the post-election effort also includes individual calls to large donors.
The scramble highlights the costs associated with the task at hand and the loss of effort now facing Democrats as they try to maintain basic political operations to confront the Trump administration and prepare for the 2026 midterm elections. It also raises questions about how Democrats have used their resources, including hosting events with musicians and other celebrities and running ads in non-traditional spaces like the domed Sphere in Las Vegas.
Internally, an apparent cash shortage is being blamed for the campaign’s decision to stop paying many senior staff starting Saturday. Even employees who were initially told they would be paid by the end of the year. Facing internal frustration, the campaign recently notified those affected that their health insurance would be covered until the end of the year, according to a source who shared internal discussions on condition of anonymity.
Another source familiar with fundraising and Democratic National Committee finances said the Harris campaign’s projected shortfall is relatively small compared to the breadth of the campaign, which reported having $119 million in cash on hand in mid-October before the Nov. 5 election. I said it was the amount. . The person was not authorized to discuss campaign finances publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Patrick Stauffer, the Harris campaign’s chief financial officer, said in a statement that there was “no outstanding debt or past-due bills” as of Election Day and that “there will be no debt” to the campaign or the DNC in her next financial disclosure. , which will be submitted to the Federal Election Commission in December.
A person familiar with the campaign and DNC’s finances said it is impossible to know where Harris’ balance sheet currently stands. The campaign is still receiving invoices for events and other services from suppliers as the race nears its end. The campaign also has outstanding receipts. For example, a media organization must pay for employees’ seats when they travel on Air Force Two for the vice president’s campaign activities.
Hours after Trump chose Florida Republican Matt Gaetz for attorney general on Wednesday, supporters of Harris received appeals for more funding to the “Harris Fight Fund,” citing the rising Trump team and its agenda.
Gaetz, who resigned from his House seat after the announcement, said the email said the Justice Department “will use its weapons to protect itself.” The report said Democrats “must prevent Trump from carrying out his plans for revenge and revenge” and noted that “even his Republican allies were shocked by this Cabinet selection.”
Another appeal followed in Harris’ name on Friday.
“As long as we keep fighting, the light of America’s promise will burn brightly,” the email said, adding, “There are many important races across the country that are still too close to call, impossible to revisit, or uncertain.” “Legal Issues”
The email makes no mention of Harris’ campaign or finances.
The “Harris Fight Fund” is the post-election label for the “Harris Victory Fund,” a joint fundraising effort of the Harris campaign, the DNC and the state Democratic Party. Despite the language of the recent appeal, most regular donors’ donations go to national political parties, unless donors take the time to contact the DNC directly to ensure the money goes directly to Harris or their state party.
The fine print at the bottom of the solicitation explains that the first $41,300 per person and the first $15,000 from political action committees would be allocated to the DNC. The next $3,300 from individuals, or $5,000 from PACs, will go to President Harris’ “refund account.” Maximum contribution limits beyond this threshold could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and would be spread across all states.
DNC officials, whose leadership is expected to change early next year, said the party has no plans to cover Harris’ shortfall but could not explicitly rule out the party pumping money into the campaign.
