{"id":2365970,"date":"2024-11-08T07:14:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T12:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-kamala-harris-plowed-through-1-billion-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-11-08T07:15:37","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T12:15:37","slug":"how-kamala-harris-plowed-through-1-billion-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-kamala-harris-plowed-through-1-billion-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"How Kamala Harris plowed through $1 billion &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-kamala-harris-plowed-through-1-billion-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2365970&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In October 2024, as the presidential\u2064 election \u2064approached, Vice President Kamala Harris made headlines by raising over $1 billion for\u2063 her campaign in just three months\u2014a significant feat in terms of fundraising. However, despite\u200d this substantial \u200dfinancial backing, she lost the election to Donald Trump, who focused on key battleground states and spent significantly less than Harris. The disparity between Harris&#8217;s fundraising\u200c and her electoral failure has raised questions among\u200b Democrats, leading \u200dto \u2064a critical evaluation of \u200dher campaign \u2063strategies.<\/p>\n<p>Harris&#8217;s campaign spent\u2064 extensively, over $880 million, with \u200da large portion allocated to advertising, polling, and consultant fees, while \u200dTrump reportedly spent about $354 million. Political analysts noted that Harris\u2019s reliance on\u2062 consultants may\u200c have contributed to a disconnect with voters, \u200dresulting in low name recognition and comfortability \u200damong the electorate. Despite her campaign&#8217;s \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-flies-to-california-to-court-hollywood-donors-as-hunter-faces-new-charges\/\" title=\"Biden heads to California to woo Hollywood donors while Hunter confronts fresh charges\">star-studded events<\/a> and\u2063 high-profile endorsements, including\u2063 appearances by celebrities \u2064like Oprah\u2062 Winfrey, the overwhelming fundraising did not translate into voter support.<\/p>\n<p>As Harris&#8217;s campaign delves into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/maricopa-county-official-says-printer-settings-changed-on-election-day-linked-to-tabulators-rejecting-ballots\/\" title=\"Maricopa County Official Says  Printer Settings Changed on Election Day, Linked to Tabulators Rejecting Ballots\">post-election analysis<\/a> \u200dto understand the \u200cfailures and internal dynamics of her effort, Democratic leaders emphasize the need to understand why significant monetary resources did not yield desired electoral results, \u200despecially in comparison to Trump&#8217;s more defined persona and campaign approach. Harris&#8217;s campaign expenditures, including event production and consultant fees, will undergo scrutiny\u2064 as the party\u200d assesses lessons learned from \u2062the \u20632024 election.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">How Kamala Harris plowed through $1 billion<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1875299\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>In October, weeks before the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2024-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">2024<\/a> election, the word was out: Vice President Kamala Harris had fundraised north of $1 billion. The haul, the <em>New York Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/09\/us\/politics\/harris-billion-dollar-fundraising.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reported<\/a> upon breaking the news, was historic because of the short period of time, just three months, that it flooded in.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>It was ultimately no use. On Tuesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a> made history and became only the second former president to win a nonconsecutive term. After surviving two assassination attempts on the campaign trail, Trump dominated Harris in battleground states to emerge as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3210669\/donald-trump-wins-2024-election-defeating-kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">president-elect<\/a>. And he did so with far less cash.<\/p>\n<p>The story of how Harris pocketed record sums while failing to gain support from voters will be studied by campaigns for decades to come. Democrats who successfully pressured octogenarian President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Joe Biden<\/a> to pass the torch to the former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">California<\/a> senator are now conducting an internal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/inside-with-jen-psaki\/watch\/-there-is-a-fundamental-brand-problem-with-the-party-psaki-experts-diagnose-harris-performance-223687237722\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">autopsy<\/a> of the 2024 race, in which Trump raised and spent hundreds of millions of dollars less than Harris.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A billion dollars paled in comparison to the increased prices Americans were seeing across the country,&rdquo; Tom Fitton, president of the conservative group Judicial Watch and a longtime Trump ally, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Voters weren&rsquo;t fooled.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a concession speech for the 2024 presidential election on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, on the campus of Howard University in Washington. (AP Photo\/Ben Curtis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Harris campaign and its affiliated committees dropped more than $654 million on advertising from July 22 to Election Day, whereas Trump spent $378 million, or 57% less, in the same category, according to data from AdImpact. <\/p>\n<p>Future Forward, the $500 million &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/10\/17\/us\/elections\/future-forward-kamala-harris-ads.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">ad-testing factory<\/a>&rdquo; and super PAC that supported Harris, was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3179215\/kamala-harris-influential-megadonors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reliable clearinghouse for checks<\/a> from wealthy Democrats such as Reid Hoffman, George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, and Dustin Moskovitz. And anonymous donations, or so-called &ldquo;dark money,&rdquo; also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3203722\/kamala-harris-dark-money-support-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">benefited Harris<\/a> at a faster and more substantial clip than Trump thanks to lax federal laws that progressives often criticize but, nonetheless, exploited in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The Harris campaign declined to comment on its finances. A fuller portrait will be public after the election, as the Federal Election Commission <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/help-candidates-and-committees\/filing-reports\/post-general-election-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">mandates<\/a> post-general election reports for candidates within 30 days.<\/p>\n<p>In mid-October, the Harris campaign disclosed that it had spent over $880 million this election, almost $526 million greater than the roughly $354 million that the Trump campaign had disclosed spending, according to a <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> analysis of federal filings. Much of the Harris campaign&rsquo;s spending was allocated for digital media advertising, polling, and travel from state to state, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fec.gov\/data\/disbursements\/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00703975&amp;recipient_name=advanced+aviation&amp;two_year_transaction_period=2024\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">including<\/a> to a private jet company called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/986440\/pelosi-reaches-700k-in-gas-guzzling-private-jet-payments-despite-pushing-green-energy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Advanced Aviation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Payroll and the taxes that accompanied it accounted for $56.6 million of the Harris campaign&rsquo;s spending. In comparison, the Trump campaign reported spending $9 million on payroll &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">employing hundreds fewer staff members<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>There was also the army of political, digital, and media consultants who were paid over $12.8 million by the Harris campaign, filings show.<\/p>\n<p>One vendor, Village Marketing Agency, received over $3.9 million and <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/08\/20\/us-news\/inside-the-democratic-partys-plan-to-recruit-5000-influencers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reportedly<\/a> worked to recruit thousands of social media influencers to boost Harris online. Others that scored lucrative consulting gigs from the campaign included the likes of Precision Strategies, a Democratic-aligned marketing agency; Ethos Organizing, founded by former Ohio Democratic Party director Malik Hubbard; and the Biden-allied SKDK communications firm.<\/p>\n<p>Harris&rsquo;s payments to the consultant class will likely come under the microscope in the months ahead, as Democrats look to diagnose who is responsible for why the party lost this election so handily. Speaking on <em>MSNBC<\/em> after Harris&rsquo;s Wednesday concession speech, former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/democrat-mccaskill-breaks-tears-live-msnbc-kamala-harris-speech-1982026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said<\/a> Harris &ldquo;was listening too much to consultants,&rdquo; which McCaskill argued detracted from her ability to &ldquo;exude who she was&rdquo; to voters.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There was a segment of the electorate that was very consistently saying, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m not familiar with Kamala Harris,&rsquo; and, because of that, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m not comfortable enough to decide to vote for her,&rsquo; whereas Trump is incredibly well-defined,&rdquo; said Jake Dilemani, a Democratic political strategist based in New York City. &ldquo;It was easier for him to spend less and still win.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the advantage of being such a well-defined person,&rdquo; Dilemani told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Event production&rdquo; was also a staple spending area of the Harris campaign, which notably hosted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3199846\/harris-seeks-rival-trump-showmanship-star-studded-lineup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">star-studded lineup<\/a> of musicians from Lady Gaga to Katy Perry for an election eve rally.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Lady Gaga performs at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art. (AP Photo\/Matt Slocum)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The campaign paid more than $15 million, according to federal filings, to companies for such services.<\/p>\n<p>There was $1 million for Oprah Winfrey&rsquo;s Harpo Productions on Oct. 15 in West Hollywood, California.<\/p>\n<p>Winfrey, a top Harris ally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3161000\/harris-oprah-somebody-breaks-into-house-getting-shot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">appeared at a town hall with the vice president<\/a> in September and was at her final rally in Philadelphia before Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>Viva Creative, a marketing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vivacreative.com\/#recent-work\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">agency<\/a> that has touted its work with Oprah, comedian Trevor Noah, the Washington Nationals baseball team, and American Express, scooped up $1.8 million from the Harris campaign for event production from September to October. A company called Production Management One in Maryland received $1.7 million, with large payments also going to Vox Productions, Temple University, Wizard Studios North, the Park Hyatt Chicago, and other entities for event production, filings show. <\/p>\n<p>Then there was Majic Productions, a Wisconsin-based company, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.majicpro.com\/portfolio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">has<\/a> worked the NBA playoffs, the Super Bowl, and at the Bellagio Hotel &amp; Casino in Las Vegas. The Harris campaign paid that company $2.3 million.<\/p>\n<p>A source familiar with the matter told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that the Harris campaign spent six figures on building a set for Harris&rsquo;s appearance on the popular <em>Call Her Daddy<\/em> podcast with host Alex Cooper. The interview <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3178280\/kamala-harris-call-her-daddy-podcast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">came out in October<\/a> and was <a href=\"https:\/\/thewellesleynews.com\/19782\/arts\/kamala-harris-on-alex-coopers-call-her-daddy-podcast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reportedly<\/a> filmed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sacbee.com\/news\/politics-government\/capitol-alert\/article293673759.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">in<\/a> a hotel room in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> reached out to the Harris campaign on the podcast-related matter but did not hear back in time for publication. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Money can&rsquo;t buy you love or a good candidate,&rdquo; one Trump campaign adviser said. To Republican political strategist Brad Todd, the story behind why Harris lost is not a lesson on money&nbsp;purportedly&nbsp;being irrelevant in elections.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Rather, in Todd&rsquo;s telling, Harris&rsquo;s message was off: She was unwilling to meet swing state voters where they were on issues such as immigration and the economy.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Advertising is a pretty important source of information for swing voters,&rdquo; Todd said. &ldquo;It no doubt matters, but it&rsquo;s not enough. It doesn&rsquo;t matter if you have the wrong message and it&rsquo;s not delivered in a compelling way. What her campaign was missing was any effort to break with the unpopular administration she has been a part of.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1875299\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1875299\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kamala Harris raised over $1 billion in just three months<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2365971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Kamala-Harris-phone.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32675,33926,32438,32504,32076],"class_list":["post-2365970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-2020-election","tag-campaign-finance","tag-kamala-harris","tag-political-strategy","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Kamala-Harris-phone.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2365970"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2365974,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2365970\/revisions\/2365974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2365971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2365970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2365970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2365970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}