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.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.
So how did the Kamala Harris campaign go from an overflowing treasury to debt?
Fast rise, steep fall
Soon after Biden pulled out of the presidential contest following a disastrous debate against Trump, the Democratic Party consolidated around Harris and her candidacy.
Quick off the blocks, her campaign raised $200m — 20 percent of the total $1bn drawn for her campaign — within the first week.
The money kept flowing in, but was also being spent.
On October 16, when the Harris campaign last filed a pre-election statement with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), it had in excess of $180,000 left in the kitty.
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.
What did the Harris campaign spend money on?
The lion’s share of the campa …
