WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee purchased a donor list from a political action committee backing ex-Vice President Kamala Harris for $6.5 million late last year — even as the national party’s main fundraising arm remained more than $16 million in debt.
The Fight for the People PAC received $3.5 million from the DNC on Nov. 28 and another $3 million on Dec. 29, according to the latest Federal Election Commission filings that were first reported by The New York Times over the weekend.
The Harris-aligned super PAC then used the cash infusion to pay off campaign expenses more than a year after the Democrat’s loss to Donald Trump — including more than $3.9 million in media production, polling fees totaling $293,883, and $99,100 to the hip-hop band The Roots’ managing company for a performance in Philadelphia.
The Republican National Committee bested the DNC in total fundraising for 2025, recording more than $172 million in contributions — and at least $95 million cash on hand.
The DNC took in nearly $146 million in total fundraising, but had just over $14 million cash on hand and was $17.5 million in the red as of Dec. 31.
In total, the party has absorbed around $22 million in debts related to the Harris campaign.
At the time of the first payment for the donor list, the DNC had roughly $12.6 million cash on hand and $15.9 million in debts, raising “questions” among some party members about the prudence of the purchase
The party lost around $6 million from its campaign war chest in November alone as its spending outpaced donations.
Deep-pocketed donors like media mogul Barry Diller and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg had expressed wariness of contributing any more funds to the Democratic Party as far back as June 2025.
“For me, this really brings questions about the campaign’s finances, how transparent everything has been regarding the 2024 campaign, what has been spent and what are the lessons we need to learn coming from that experience,” DNC member Tim Lim, who unsuccessfully ran for party finance chair last year, told The Times.
Former Harris senior adviser Kirsten Allen argued: “It is standard after a presidential campaign for there to be an extended reconciliation period as outstanding invoices are received, processed and refunds are issued.”
“Since the campaign ended, the vice president has helped raise millions of dollars for the DNC and candidates nationwide, and heading into the midterms she will expand that effort supporting candidates up and down the ballot,” she added.
Party Chairman Ken Martin and his allies have also disputed that dealing with the financial aftermath of Harris’ defeat put the party on the back foot heading into the November midterms.
“While Republicans hoard their cash from billionaire megadonors, they’re losing,” DNC spokesperson Rosemary Boeglin told The Times. “We’ll keep investing and we’ll keep winning, and that includes this year’s midterms.”
Harris previously sought to swap donor lists with the Beau Biden Foundation, in a move that may have run afoul of the tax-exempt status of the charity named for then-Vice President Beau Biden’s late son.
In December 2015, months after Beau’s death from brain cancer, Harris’ US Senate campaign offered a $1,000 payment in exchange for the former Delaware AG’s donor list — and the foundation suggested appointing her to one of its board seats.
It’s unclear whether the transaction ever occurred.