Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign has become the post-election cautionary tale for Democrats as the party struggles to come to terms with her stunning loss to President-elect Donald Trump. The headline? Her campaign managed to burn through over $1 billion—yes, billion—with whispers of being $20 million in the red. And while her team denies the debt, the spending spree has party insiders and voters alike scratching their heads.
Patrick Stauffer, the campaign’s CFO, insists there’s no unpaid debt lingering, but Democrats are still looking for answers. Harris’s loss wasn’t just a blow; it was a rout. She failed to secure any of the seven key swing states and even lost the popular vote to Trump—a humiliation Democrats haven’t seen in decades. Party loyalists are already pointing fingers, questioning not just her strategy but the entire operation.
Take the celebrity-studded events: Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, and other A-listers didn’t come cheap. Production costs soared into the millions, sparking criticism from Democratic strategists who wonder if those dollars might have been better spent elsewhere. “Could that have been put into a podcast strategy? A Hispanic communication strategy focused on men?” strategist Jon Reinish asked. Good question. Maybe someone should’ve told the campaign that swing voters in Pennsylvania probably care more about gas prices than glitzy Hollywood cameos.
Reported amounts paid to celebrities by Kamala’s campaign
10 million to Beyoncé.
5 million to Meghan Thee Stallion.
2.3 million to Lizzo
1.8 million to Eminem
— Valuetainment Media (@ValuetainmentTV) November 12, 2024
Rodell Mollineau, another Democratic strategist, diplomatically suggested an “audit” of campaign spending to see what worked and what didn’t. Translation? Somebody’s got some explaining to do. Mollineau even called for scrutiny of super PAC spending, noting that “soft money” efforts didn’t face the same time crunch as Harris’s hastily assembled campaign. Still, no amount of spin can hide the reality: the campaign overpromised and underdelivered.
“When you lose an election, and there’s that much money there, there are definitely going to be arrows flung at you,” Mollineau said. “As part of the autopsy of this campaign, an audit of all funding should be done so we understand what went right and what went wrong. When you lose, you question everything, but we shouldn’t start with, ‘Every dollar that was spent was stupid money.’”
Even Harris’s own team isn’t sugarcoating things. Former communications director Jamal Simmons admitted the problems were brewing long before Biden’s disastrous debate performance forced him to bow out. He argued the Biden White House should have done more to counter Republican attacks against Harris—years of messaging that painted her as unlikable, ineffective, and out of touch. By the time she stepped in as the nominee, the damage was already done.
Yet somehow, Democrats are finding ways to defend the debacle. Caitlin Legacki, a Democratic strategist, called Harris’s Oprah interview a “steal” at $1 million, touting it as a creative new form of political outreach. Sure, because nothing says “connecting with everyday Americans,” like burning through millions for celebrity soundbites while losing every battleground state.
.@KamalaHarris smashed the Democrat party to pieces with a 2-billion-dollar hammer. Now the kingmakers are tearing each other apart. Kamala burned through $100 million a week during her campaign — now Democrats are in debt. So, what’d Kamala do with her billions? According to the… pic.twitter.com/uUuwvYhbt1
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) November 19, 2024
The Harris campaign’s story isn’t just one of financial mismanagement—it’s a microcosm of the Democrats’ broader disconnect with the voters they claim to represent. If $1 billion couldn’t save Harris, what makes them think more celebrity glitz and vague platitudes will work next time?
