WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is still paying off shortfalls incurred by former Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed 2024 election campaign — with at least $1.6 million paid out in September alone, according to the latest federal filings.
The Harris campaign shelled out $1.49 million alone for media production and consulting, $106,312 for data services and $21,762 to rent space at a Grand Rapids, Mich. community center for an October 2024 event alongside billionaire investor Mark Cuban touting the Democratic nominee as the “pro-business candidate.”
Last month’s payouts push the total debt covered since Election Day to more than $20 million, according to Axios, which first reported on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.
It’s unclear how much more debt remains to be settled.
Former President Barack Obama’s successful 2012 campaign incurred a similar level of debt that the DNC three years to fully pay off, with former chairwoman Donna Brazile claiming the 44th commander-in-chief’s “neglect had left the party in significant debt.”
Harris made a “handshake deal” with the national party after Donald Trump defeated her this past November, under which the DNC agreed to cover $20.5 million in outstanding campaign bills, The New York Times reported in August.
Those debts included costs of internal polling, consulting, flights and production companies — some of which helped put on star-studded concerts as well as campaign events that featured Harris with the likes of Beyonce and Megan Thee Stallion.
Harris spent a whopping $1.5 billion during her 107-day sprint to Election Day after President Biden suspended his re-election campaign July 21, 2024, only to lose all seven critical swing states to Trump.
The fundraising totals for the 2024 election nearly broke the all-time record from four years prior, with both campaigns raising a combined $2.5 billion.
But as of June, DNC officials were openly expressing concern that the party was so cash-strapped that it could have to borrow more money just to keep the lights on.
Some megadonors — including billionaires such as media mogul Barry Diller and Michael Bloomberg, the former Republican mayor of New York City — were also slamming their pocketbooks shut.
“There is just a broad consensus that the DNC is ineffectual and not where we should be giving money,” one longtime ex-donor told The Post in June.
The following month, FEC filings for the first half of 2025 showed the Republican National Committee had racked up $96,419,883 in contributions and registered $80,782,884 cash on hand, dominating the DNC’s $69,224,921 in donations and $15,220,609 war chest.
The DNC currently has $11,974,008 cash on hand, and has pumped at least $3.5 million into a closely watched gubernatorial race in New Jersey, a deep blue state where no Republican has won the governorship since 2013.
Reps for the DNC and Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
