Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party\u2019s prodigious fundraising<\/a> operation raised more than $1 billion in her loss to Donald Trump, but the vice president is still pushing donors for more money after the election.<\/p>\n Democrats are sending persistent appeals to Harris supporters without expressly asking them to cover any potential debts, enticing would-be donors instead with other matters: the Republican president-elect\u2019s picks for his upcoming administration<\/a> and a handful of pending congressional contests where ballots are still being tallied.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Harris campaign certainly spent more than they raised and is now busy trying to fundraise,\u201d said Adrian Hemond, a Democratic strategist from Michigan. He said he was been asked by the campaign after its loss to Trump to help with fundraising.<\/p>\n The party is flooding Harris\u2019 lucrative email donor list with near-daily appeals aimed at small-dollar donors \u2014 those whose contributions are measured in the hundreds of dollars or less. But Hemond said the postelection effort also includes individual calls to larger donors.<\/p>\n The scramble now underscores the expense involved in a losing effort and the immediate challenges facing Democrats as they try to maintain a baseline political operation to counter the Trump administration and prepare for the 2026 midterm elections. It also calls into question how Democrats used their resources, including hosting events with musicians and other celebrities as well as running ads in a variety of nontraditional spaces such as Las Vegas\u2019 domed Sphere.<\/p>\n Internally, the apparent cash crunch is being blamed for the campaign\u2019s decision to stop paying many senior staff as of Saturday, even those initially told they would be paid through the end of the year. Facing 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 one person with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to share internal discussions.<\/p>\n Another person familiar with the fundraising effort and the Democratic National Committee\u2019s finances said the Harris campaign\u2019s expected shortfall is a relatively small sum compared to the breadth of the campaign, which reported having $119 million cash on hand in mid-October before the Nov. 5 election. That person was not authorized to publicly discuss the campaign\u2019s finances and spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n Patrick Stauffer, chief financial officer for the Harris campaign, said in a statement that \u201cthere were no outstanding debts or bills overdue\u201d on Election Day and there \u201cwill be no debt\u201d listed for either the campaign or the DNC on their next financial disclosures, which are due to the Federal Election Commission in December.<\/p>\n The person familiar with the campaign and DNC\u2019s finances said it was impossible to know just where Harris\u2019 balance sheet stands currently. The campaign still is getting invoices from vendors for events and other services from near the end of the race. The campaign also has outstanding receipts; for example, from media organizations that must pay for their employees\u2019 spots on Air Force Two as it traveled for the vice president\u2019s campaign activities.<\/p>\n Within hours of Trump picking Florida Republican Matt Gaetz<\/a> for attorney general on Wednesday, Harris\u2019 supporters got an appeal for more money for \u201cthe Harris Fight Fund,\u201d citing the emerging Trump team and its agenda.<\/p>\n Gaetz, who resigned his House seat after the announcement, \u201cwill weaponize the Justice Department to protect themselves,\u201d the email said. It said Democrats \u201cmust stop them from executing Trump\u2019s plans for revenge and retribution\u201d and noted that \u201ceven his Republican allies<\/a> are shocked by this\u201d Cabinet choice.<\/p>\n Another appeal followed Friday in Harris\u2019 name.<\/p>\n \u201cThe light of America\u2019s promise will burn bright as long as we keep fighting,\u201d the email said, adding that \u201cthere are still a number of critical races across the country that are either too close to call or with the margin of recounts or certain legal challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n The emails do not mention Harris\u2019 campaign or its finances.<\/p>\n The \u201cHarris Fight Fund\u201d is a postelection label for the \u201cHarris Victory Fund,\u201d which is the joint fundraising operation of Harris\u2019 campaign, the DNC and state Democratic parties. Despite the language in the recent appeals, most rank-and-file donors\u2019 contributions would be routed to the national party, unless a donor took the time to contact DNC directly and have the money go directly to Harris or a state party.<\/p>\n The fine print at the bottom of the solicitation explains that the first $41,300 from a person and first $15,000 from a political action committee would be allocated to the DNC. The next $3,300 from a person or $5,000 from a PAC would go to the Harris for President \u201cRecount Account.\u201d Anything beyond that threshold, up to maximum contribution limits that can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, would be spread across state parties.<\/p>\n Officials at the DNC, which is set to undergo a leadership change early next year, indicated the party has no plans to cover any shortfall for Harris but could not explicitly rule out the party shifting any money to the campaign.<\/p>\n