Kamala Harris Is Eyeing 2028 But Her Own Donors Are Begging Her Not to Do It
She spent $1.4 billion. She lost every swing state. She couldn’t articulate a single policy difference from the man she replaced at the top of the ticket. And now Kamala Harris is reportedly considering a third run at the White House — which is either a testament to extraordinary self-belief or a complete detachment from political reality.
Her own donors are voting no.
ABC News talked to more than 15 former donors, fundraisers, campaign aides, and Biden White House staffers. The picture that emerges is unanimous and brutal. “I have not heard one person suggest it would be good for anything if she ran,” said an influential California donor who supported her early. A fundraiser who raised money for her 2024 run said “I don’t believe that Kamala is the right person for this moment by any stretch of your imagination.” A longtime Democratic donor who raised for her 2020 campaign was equally direct: “I really have not heard anybody say that they want her to run. In fact, it’s the opposite.”
And then there’s the thank-you note problem. A fundraiser who worked both her 2020 and 2024 campaigns dropped the detail that has to sting: “For somebody who wants to have a future political career, she has done nothing to maintain any relationships with anybody that I’m aware of that were her big donors. We’re now two years into it, and I don’t know anybody who’s even got a thank you note.”
She raised $1.4 billion. Lost. And couldn’t find the time to send notes to the people who funded it.
Michael LaRosa — Jill Biden’s former press secretary, not exactly a Republican operative — went on Fox News and said voters “are not going to give Kamala Harris a third at-bat.” He argued she needs to stop waiting and “start leading.” A Democratic strategist countered that Harris has been “listening to the American people.” LaRosa’s subtext was clear: listening isn’t leading, and in 2028 Democrats need someone who can actually do the latter.
The broader Democratic context makes all of this considerably more interesting. Harris is supposedly polling as the 2028 frontrunner. She’s consulting Zohran Mamdani on Israel policy — a man who wants to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu and openly sympathizes with Hamas. She just purchased an $8 million mansion in California. She is, by every external indicator, acting like someone who intends to run.
And every Democrat who funded her last two campaigns is privately telling journalists they’d rather have almost anyone else.
Here’s the conservative perspective on all of this, offered honestly: a Kamala Harris 2028 nomination would be a gift. Not because she’s a joke — she isn’t — but because she had every structural advantage in 2024, spent more money than anyone in American political history, and still lost decisively. The problems her donors are identifying aren’t fixable between now and 2028. They’re features, not bugs.
Run, Kamala. Republicans will be ready.
Former DNC fundraiser says major donors won’t back Kamala Harris again as party faces divisions
A former Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser warned Saturday on "My View with Lara Trump" that major donors are unlikely to support former Vice President Kamala Harris in another presidential run, arguing the party is struggling with internal divisions, fundraising problems and a weak 2028 field.
Lindy Li contended that political donors view their contributions as a "business proposition" and will not continue backing candidates or organizations they believe mishandled their money.
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Li criticized the party's post-election accountability and said donor frustration is contributing to broader Democratic fundraising problems.
"There's been no accountability. The autopsy that they sent out was basically a sham, and they couldn't even stand behind it. They didn't even mention the fact that Kamala Harris is a terrible candidate," she said.
"Kamala Harris is living in fantasyland… [thinking] that big donors would bet on her again," she added. "She should just go away because the American people do not want her agenda."
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Li noted roughly $2.5 billion was spent between Harris' campaign operation and the pro-Harris Future Forward super PAC. Federal filings show Harris' principal campaign committee alone reported about $1.18 billion in disbursements during the 2023-24 cycle.
Li made the case that Democratic fundraising troubles are connected to dissatisfaction with the party's drift leftward, criticizing Democrats for embracing socialist policies.
"This is why donors like me left the party in droves. And this is why they are so… broke. They literally had to put up their own headquarters… as collateral. They can't even get a text back from donors. So I don't want to hear anything about a big tent. You should not be normalizing socialism like this," she said.
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The former Democratic fundraiser also criticized party leaders for succumbing to pressure from the party's left flank, arguing that Sen. Chuck Schumer only labeled Democrats a "big tent party" because he knows that if he doesn't, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., would primary him.
"He's trying to race her to the bottom. It's just ridiculous," she said. "And Americans already rejected it in 2024," Li said.
