debut: 2/16/17
38,071 runs
How did Kamala Harris’s campaign rack up a debt after record fundraising?
The $20m spent on celebrity concerts draws scrutiny amid reports of a matching debt despite $1bn in earnings.
It was a record-breaking fundraising campaign: Vice President Kamala Harris raised more than $1bn in less than four months, during which she strove to win the US presidency, after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race in July.But earlier this week, Lindy Li, a member of the DNC finance committee, told NewsNation, a cable news network, that the Harris campaign was now $20m in debt.
Now, as the dust settles on her failed bid, following her November 5 defeat to Donald Trump, a storm threatens to kick off over those very finances, after a Democratic National Convention (DNC) official declared that the Harris campaign was $20m in debt.According to Open Secrets, the transparency nonprofit, the Harris war chest of more than $1bn dramatically dwarfed the approximately $382m that the Trump team pulled in during the same timeframe.FEC filings suggest that the campaign paid $1m to Oprah Winfrey’s production company.
So how did the Kamala Harris campaign go from an overflowing treasury to debt?A cadre of celebrities like Jon Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry, Megan thee Stallion and Lady Gaga performed at rallies in battleground states on the eve of Election Day. That may not have been the wisest investment, say some experts.
The $20m spent on celebrity concerts draws scrutiny amid reports of a matching debt despite $1bn in earnings.
It was a record-breaking fundraising campaign: Vice President Kamala Harris raised more than $1bn in less than four months, during which she strove to win the US presidency, after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race in July.But earlier this week, Lindy Li, a member of the DNC finance committee, told NewsNation, a cable news network, that the Harris campaign was now $20m in debt.
Now, as the dust settles on her failed bid, following her November 5 defeat to Donald Trump, a storm threatens to kick off over those very finances, after a Democratic National Convention (DNC) official declared that the Harris campaign was $20m in debt.According to Open Secrets, the transparency nonprofit, the Harris war chest of more than $1bn dramatically dwarfed the approximately $382m that the Trump team pulled in during the same timeframe.FEC filings suggest that the campaign paid $1m to Oprah Winfrey’s production company.
So how did the Kamala Harris campaign go from an overflowing treasury to debt?A cadre of celebrities like Jon Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry, Megan thee Stallion and Lady Gaga performed at rallies in battleground states on the eve of Election Day. That may not have been the wisest investment, say some experts.
- edited -
