Over two months after Vice President Kamala Harris was defeated by President-elect Donald Trump, the joint fundraising committee she established with the Democratic National Committee continues to impose recurring charges on donors, as reported by Politico.
This has left some donors feeling frustrated.
“It’s absurd, disconnected from reality, and takes undue advantage of our most reliable supporters,” a Democrat expressed to Politico, providing screenshots showing charges to their accounts extending into January.
They mentioned that the Harris Victory Fund did not request their explicit consent to persist with the withdrawals, instead informing them through an email that this would continue “until you let us know otherwise.”
A former staff member from Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign shared with Politico that they viewed these charges as “very questionable” and likened them to “grifting.” They noted that Romney’s campaign had ceased all recurring donations just a few days post-election that year.
“These individuals didn’t sign up to keep incurring charges in January,” the ex-Romney staffer remarked.
An official from the DNC informed Politico that the Harris Victory Fund is now inactive, and that the money collected is redirected to the DNC “to assist Democrats nationwide as we work to rebuild the party.”
During last year’s campaign, donors contributed a total of $4.7 billion to support both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates and their associated groups.
According to Federal Elections Commission data, Harris and her Democratic affiliates raised approximately $2.9 billion compared to the Republicans’ $1.8 billion.
“There’s a certain expectation that recurring donations will be terminated following a loss, as there’s no continued need,” stated Mike Nellis, who manages a Democratic online fundraising company called Authentic.
Nonetheless, he expressed that he would be “completely fine” if the committee’s funds were rerouted to the DNC, “as long as it’s clear to the donor and adheres to the guidelines of ActBlue and the FEC.”
Online fundraising has historically posed challenges across party lines, often at the expense of everyday Americans.
During the 2020 presidential election, Trump’s campaign defaulted to weekly recurring donations for online contributors, concealing the option to opt-out in fine print, which resulted in his supporters facing tens of millions in charges.
This strategy effectively allowed the Trump campaign to secure an interest-free loan, while numerous supporters reported that they were caught off guard, having funds for essentials like rent or groceries deducted.
