WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is facing growing criticism for its spending strategy following her loss to President-elect Donald Trump. Reports that the campaign spent more than $1 billion and might be $20 million in debt have raised questions about how the money was spent at a time when going house-to-house in a tight election season means more. The Harris campaign denied the debt claims, saying all financial obligations were met as of Election Day.
“As of Election Day, there were no outstanding debts or bills overdue, and there will be no debt on either the DNC or HFP report for post-general filing,” said campaign chief financial officer Patrick Stauffer.
Harris’s loss of all seven key swing states and the popular vote have prompted many inside the Democratic Party to reflect on her campaign’s spending choices. Democratic strategist Rodell Mollineau acknowledged the challenging timeline Harris faced after President Biden’s late withdrawal in July but believes an audit of the campaign’s finances is necessary.
When you lose an election and there’s that much money involved, there are definitely going to be arrows flung at you,” Mollineau said. “We need to understand what went right and what went wrong.
Some Democrats have questioned whether the campaign’s spending priorities were effective. A prime example is the storied campaign events that included paeans to Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé. “That money could have been used in targeted ways, such as mobilizing Hispanic voices or reaching Black males,” said Democratic strategist Jon Reinish.
“When you lose, you question everything,” Mollineau said. “But we shouldn’t start with, ‘Every dollar that was spent was stupid money.'”
Despite the loss, Harris’s team credited her significant fundraising efforts with keeping the race close in crucial battleground states. Stauffer highlighted Harris’s “unparalleled fundraising prowess” as the driving force behind their aggressive strategy to reach voters.
Others in the party-including former Harris communications director Jamal Simmons-have said that broader problems with the campaign existed before her nomination. Simmons said that the Biden team could have done more to battle Republican attacks earlier on in the race and said Harris faced challenges that began long before the final months of the election.
“We didn’t know how frail Joe Biden would appear at the debate,” Simmons said, referencing Biden’s poor debate performance that eventually led him to step aside. “The problems with the Harris campaign were long simmering. They weren’t problems for the last 100 days.”
Full details of the campaign’s financial picture will emerge after Harris filed a post-campaign report on December 5. Until then, however, Democratic leaders are pushing to take a closer look at what worked and what didn’t in a race that many considered an uphill battle for Harris from the get go.
