Harris Camp Still Fundraising to Pay of $20 Million in Debt

Despite having raised about 1 1/2 billion dollars, the Harris campaign ended $20 million in debt. The election was 3 1/2 weeks ago but small money donors are still getting emails from the Harris camp begging for money. The emails don’t outright admit that the problem is debt. Instead they tell people on the mailing list to send money to help with recounts or some other nonsense. 

“Even a quick donation of $50 is enough to help us in this fight,” said one email sent two weeks after Election Day. “And with only hours left to hit our goal today, NOW is the best time to rush your support.”…

The fundraising appeals may be necessary: Harris’ operation ended with around $20 million in debt, according to two people familiar with her campaign finances and granted anonymity to speak freely. And there are limited ways campaigns can pay that down under federal law.

Previous campaigns that ended with similar amounts of debt often took years to pay it down.

Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, for instance, ended with $25 million in debt — some of which was personal loans — that was not fully paid off until 2013. Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign reported $6.8 million in debt after that election; it was not fully retired until 2018.

Obviously Democrats would rather not have this hanging over them for the midterms and the next presidential campaign which Harris is apparently telling people she might be up for. Still, the desperate tone of the emails and the fact that they keep weeks after the election has some Democrats worried this is creating a bad look for the party, one that could linger.

“I understand that the Harris campaign is in a very difficult position with the debt that they have, and so sometimes you just have to make practical decisions,” said Mike Nellis, founder of the Democratic digital firm Authentic, whose clients include top Democratic House and Senate candidates. “But yeah, I think that stuff like that erodes trust.”

Meanwhile, a bigger hit to team blue’s credibility could come from the outrageous amounts of money they spent in connection with celebrity endorsements and other things. For instance:

Vice President Kamala Harris’ debt-laden presidential campaign spent a staggering $2.6 million on private flights during the final weeks of the election season, according to documents released by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), as mentioned in a report by Fox News…

The FEC filings, which were published in a report by Fox News Digital, detail the private flight expenditures for October alone, totaling $2,626,110.

That is an astounding amount of money for one month of travel. There have already been some complaints from big money donors about mismanagement.

“All of a sudden, everybody’s got the keys to the candy store, ad buyers, talent consultants. There’s 100 days to do it, and the money started pouring in,” Morgan said, adding that “ego” and a “crazy” desire to obtain commissions on placed ads drove much of the spending.

It included $15 million for “event production,” $4 million in private jets and an additional $1 million to Oprah’s company, among other pricy purchases.

When asked if Morgan believes someone possibly stole the money, he said, “Maybe legally.”

I think the Harris camp is in trouble here. People were eager to give so long as there was a chance to defeat Trump but with that gone I’m guessing the fundraising isn’t going very well. This debt is probably going to be around for a few years.