With the Harris Victory Fund, the “winning” part didn’t quite work out. But the money portion still remains on some Democratic donors’ bank statements.
Two months after Vice President Kamala Harris lost to Donald Trump, the joint fundraising committee she formed with the Democratic National Committee and her campaign is still charging regular donors to the committee each month. And some donors are not happy.
“It’s stupid, out of touch, and unnecessarily taking advantage of our most loyal supporters,” said one Democratic operative who shared screenshots of the donations. The person was granted anonymity to describe the situation without fear of professional reprisal.
The agent didn’t flinch at the December charges, considering the winding-up costs associated with any campaign (although the Harris campaign entered late November with more than $1.8 million in cash).
but january charge? The Harris donor said the committee did not explicitly request permission to continue donations after the election, but sent an email saying “Thank you for your generous monthly commitment” and that donations would continue “until you contact us.”
Ongoing debits are the latest issue in online fundraising ethics. This is especially true if you sign up small donors for recurring credit card donations set on autopilot.
The Trump campaign in 2020 upped the ante in part by making it increasingly difficult for donors to sign up for automatic monthly donations, including hiding them in pre-checked boxes buried in fine print. These tactics helped bring in more than half a million refunds totaling $64 million from the Trump campaign, RNC, and Joint Committee in the final two and a half months of 2020. This figure far exceeds the Democrats’ refund amount.
The situation with the Harris Victory Fund is different. No one seems to have any objection to requesting monthly withdrawals. But should those contributions continue even after the victory is gone?
A DNC official said Harris herself told Democrats to “stay engaged in the fight.” The Harris Victory Fund donation page remains active on ActBlue, but the fund itself is now defunct and all donations are going directly to the DNC.
“These HVF donations will help Democrats across the country as we rebuild our party,” the official said, adding that donors can cancel at any time.
But the fact that funds are now being diverted raises another ethical issue. Is this fair to the donors who gave to organizations with Harris’ name on them? The soon-to-be former vice president will be without access to funds while she evaluates her political future and whether to run for president again, governor of California or stay out of politics.
For many political experts, this is one of many reasons why suspending donor bank account withdrawals after Election Day should be a best practice.
A senior digital staffer for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign said all of his recurring donations ended within days of his loss. The person said the Harris Fund’s decision to continue tapping small donors was “highly suspicious” and “admirable.”
“These people did not sign up to pay their bills in January,” the Republican said.
Mike Nellis, president of Authentic, a Democratic online fundraising company, said that if a client’s campaign ends in defeat, “there is an expectation that they will stop donating regularly because there is no need.”
But Nellis, who was a senior adviser to Harris’ 2020 presidential primary campaign, said he was fine with the DNC continuing to pull donations from Harris donors.
“If you involve your committee in something that can have a lasting impact, like the DNC or other political campaigns, be transparent with donors, ActBlue and the FEC,” he said.
Do you like this content? Subscribe to POLITICO’s Playbook newsletter.
