Struggling DNC purchased Kamala Harris’ donor list for $6.5M over a year after the 2024 election

DNC Purchases Donor List Amid Financial Struggles

Last year, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) spent $6.5 million to acquire a list of donors from a political action committee backing former Vice President Kamala Harris, all while the party’s primary fundraising sector faced over $16 million in debt.

The Fight for the People PAC received two payments from the DNC, first $3.5 million on November 28 and then another $3 million on December 29, as indicated in recent Federal Election Commission filings. This was reported by the New York Times over the weekend.

A super PAC associated with Harris then utilized these funds for campaign expenses, even more than a year after the Democrats lost to Donald Trump. The expenditures included over $3.9 million on media production, around $293,883 on voting fees, and $99,100 for a performance by the hip-hop band The Roots in Philadelphia.

In 2025, the Republican National Committee outpaced the DNC in overall fundraising, gathering over $172 million and maintaining at least $95 million in cash.

The DNC, for its part, raised nearly $146 million but only had about $14 million available in cash, resulting in a deficit of $17.5 million by December 31.

The party accumulated roughly $22 million in debt tied to Harris’s campaign.

After the initial payment to acquire the donor list, the DNC’s financial situation showed about $12.6 million in cash alongside $15.9 million in debt, prompting concerns amongst some party members about the wisdom of this decision.

November alone saw the party lose around $6 million as expenditures exceeded income.

Wealthy donors like media magnate Barry Diller and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had already been hesitant to contribute further to Democrats by mid-2025.

Tim Lim, a DNC member who previously ran for party finance chair, expressed his concerns, stating, “This raises questions about campaign finance and transparency regarding the 2024 campaign, including what has been spent and lessons we need to learn from that experience.”

Kirsten Allen, a former senior advisor to Harris, remarked, “After a presidential campaign, there’s usually a long adjustment period for processing unpaid invoices.”

She noted that since the campaign’s end, the Vice President has helped raise millions for the DNC and candidates nationwide, with plans to further support candidates as midterm elections approach.

DNC Chairman Ken Martin and his associates argue that the impact of Harris’s financial fallout is disadvantaging the party ahead of the upcoming midterms.

DNC spokesperson Rosemary Boglin contended, “Republicans are stockpiling cash from billionaire mega-donors while also losing money. We will keep investing and winning, which includes this year’s midterms.”

Previously, Harris aimed to exchange donor lists with The Beau Biden Foundation, a potential move that could conflict with the charity’s tax-exempt status, established in memory of her late son.

Back in December 2015, just months following Baugh’s death from brain cancer, Harris’s U.S. Senate campaign offered $1,000 for a list of former Delaware donors, also proposing to appoint her as a director of the foundation.