Kamala Harris’s campaign somehow managed to blow through an eye-popping billion dollars, ending with a hefty $20 million in debt despite pulling in billions from Democratic donors. In what some might call an embarrassing twist, all this spending still couldn’t secure her victory over Donald Trump, who clinched the win in a landslide. The campaign’s financial mess has left many scratching their heads, wondering where exactly all that cash went.
According to reports, including Politico’s California bureau chief, the financial woes seem to be tied to a series of lavish expenditures. Campaign insiders shared that while Harris’s war chest held a billion-plus, the funds evaporated faster than anyone anticipated. As of mid-October, Harris still had $118 million in the bank, but apparently, that was nowhere near enough to cover all her bills. Now, staffers are left with overdue payments and a $20 million tab that no one wants to pick up.
The extravagance didn’t stop at standard campaign costs, either. Harris’s campaign chair seemed to be running a rock concert tour instead of a presidential bid, booking big-name artists like Katy Perry, Lizzo, Eminem, and Bruce Springsteen. All these high-ticket shows came at the expense of, you know, typical campaign essentials like targeted social media or voter outreach strategies. Harris insiders weren’t exactly thrilled with the decisions, saying her chair’s approach alienated staff and felt more like gatekeeping than effective management.
Harris’s deputy campaign manager, Rob Flaherty, is reportedly scrambling to plug the financial hole by “shopping around” the campaign’s fundraising email list. The hope is that some other campaigns or outside groups might find that list worth buying—and thus chip in to clean up the leftover debt. So far, though, it seems like even a Harris email list may not fetch enough to erase a $20 million deficit.
Federal Election Commission data shows Harris’s campaign and the Democratic Party collectively raised just over a billion, spending around $890 million by October 16. By comparison, Trump’s campaign ran a much leaner operation, raising $392 million and spending $345 million in the same period. Advertising alone for Harris reportedly cost $1.1 billion, according to AdImpact. While Harris’s campaign may have tried to buy the win, it seems clear that a big budget and big-name concerts weren’t enough to sway voters in the end.
