Brendan J. Doherty

Senate Republicans to save millions of dollars on ads — thanks to the FEC A paralyzed FEC won’t block Republicans from using a new strategy that allows them to run TV ads for their candidates at a fraction of the cost.

A deadlocked FEC vote has opened the path for parties to buy campaign ads at lower rates, potentially shifting the fundraising balance of power in Senate races. @politico.com story:
www.politico.com/news/2024/10...

Senate Republicans make sudden change in ad strategy amid cash crunch The NRSC is canceling its independent ad reservations and redirecting it to hybrid ads, made with the candidates.

The NRSC is shifting its ad buys from independent expenditures to hybrid ads. Why? The law requires candidates to be offered the "lowest unit rate" for TV and radio ads close to an election, while parties pay higher rates for independent expenditures.
www.politico.com/news/2024/10...

Harris raises $27 million in New York fundraiser, promises economic speech this week Vice President Kamala Harris raised $27 million at a packed New York City fundraiser on Sunday. That's according to a Harris campaign aide who said it's the largest fundraising haul since Harris took ...

VP Harris raised $27 million at a Wall Street fundraiser on Sunday, her biggest yield from a single fundraising event
apnews.com/article/kama...

Harris raises $47 million in 24 hours after Trump debate Vice President Kamala Harris raised $47 million from 600,000 donors in the first full day after her commanding debate performance against Donald Trump.

The latest eye-popping fundraising numbers in the 2024 presidential race:
www.cnbc.com/2024/09/12/h...

Harris has raised $540 million and saw a surge of donations during DNC, campaign says “Just before Vice President Harris’ acceptance speech Thursday night, we officially crossed the $500 million mark," campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon wrote in a memo released by the campaign on Sunda...

The latest fundraising record to fall -- since the start of her campaign, VP Harris has raised an unprecedented $540 million for her joint fundraising committee benefitting her campaign, the DNC, and every Democratic state party.
www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

Harris and Trump Shield Their Big Campaign Fund-Raisers From the Public Political campaigns are not required to disclose the names of their fund-raising “bundlers,” but many presidential candidates have done so in recent years.

Bundlers are the fundraisers who gather big contributions from other donors. This year, neither presidential campaign is disclosing their names.
www.nytimes.com/2024/08/20/u...

GOP megadonor Tim Mellon gives another $50M to boost Trump Timothy Mellon has now given $115 million this cycle to the group.

Presidential candidates spend so much time raising money for their campaign committee in increments of $3,300 per election or less since they never know when a megadonor like Mellon will write a $50 million check to a Super PAC
www.politico.com/news/2024/08...

Trump Gambles on Outside Groups to Finance Voter Outreach Efforts New federal rules allow political candidates to coordinate their efforts to canvass for votes with outside groups like super PACs.

Super PACs have been performing more core campaign functions in this race for the White House than in past election cycles. The latest example:
www.nytimes.com/2024/08/14/u...

Harris raises twice as much as Trump in July Harris' campaign generated a jolt of enthusiasm — and influx of donations.

👀 Raised in July:
Harris campaign + Dem committees: $310 million
Trump campaign + GOP committees: $138.7 million
Cash on hand:
Harris: $377 million
Trump: $327 million
Harris: 2/3 of July $ from 1st-time donors; 94% of donations < $200
www.axios.com/2024/08/02/h...

Axios AM

Fascinating tea leaf about Harris's VP pick: Axios's Hans Nichols reports that "The Harris campaign is pressing Wall Street donors to cut their checks as soon as possible, citing a financial rule that bars contributions to tickets featuring a sitting governor."
www.axios.com/newsletters/...

Biden adviser Anita Dunn leaving White House to help pro-Harris super PAC The decision marks the first major exit from President Biden’s core team since he decided to step aside from the presidential race.

While Super PACs must be technically independent of campaigns, they are often run by close allies of the candidate they support. The latest example:
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Biden opens big-donor fundraisers to press By offering the media access to private fundraisers, his campaign is nodding to transparency — and putting the former veep on notice that anything he says will be public.

In 2019, Biden's campaign opened his fundraisers to the press, Politico reported, to put Biden "on notice that his remarks will be public." One donor said “He understands: too many phones, too many recordings” that could end up on social media
www.politico.com/story/2019/0...

Vance tells donors Harris change was a ‘sucker punch,’ at odds with campaign “The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden,” Trump’s running mate acknowledged at a private event.

JD Vance joins the (well-populated) club of candidates who said something different behind closed doors at a fundraiser than what they said in public
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

A Pedigreed Rail Magnate Is Pouring Millions Into Electing Donald Trump Timothy Mellon, a reclusive heir to a storied fortune, is spending tens of millions to elect Donald J. Trump. Precisely what he wants in return is one of many curiosities surrounding him.

Donors can only give $6,600 directly to a presidential campaign. But Timothy Mellon has given $75 million to support Trump, as well as $25 million aiding RFK Jr.'s third party bid. How? Party committees, joint fundraising committees, & Super PACs
www.nytimes.com/2024/07/28/u...

With trials pushed back, Trump sees first big dip in legal bills As former President Donald Trump faces a supercharged Democratic fundraising effort, a persistent drag on his campaign’s coffers may be easing: legal expenses.

A Super PAC spent $827,000 on Trump's legal expenses in June. Much less than the average of $4 million per month spent on his legal bills for the past two years. Since 2022 it has spent $83 million of donor money to pay Trump's lawyers, the AP reports.
apnews.com/article/elec...

Kamala Harris’s Fund-Raising Machine Cranks Into High Gear Given weeks instead of years to cultivate donors, the vice president’s allies are armed with a new logo and burning up the phones.

How have Dem fundraising dynamics changed since Biden stepped aside? Teddy Schleifer has an inside look at how the Harris campaign is ramping up its fundraising operation and thinking about how to allocate the VP's scarce time
www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/u...

The fight to define Harris is on. And for now, Republicans are dominating Democrats on the airwaves Kamala Harris is already facing a wave of Republican-backed attack ads questioning her leadership, her progressive record and what she knew about President Joe Biden’s decline.

While Harris's early fundraising has set records, it takes time to make and execute a plan to spend that money on campaign ads. Republicans are filling that vacuum for now, outspending Democrats by a 25:1 ratio on TV and radio ads, the AP reports
apnews.com/article/adve...

"Haley voters for Harris" group gets cease and desist request from Nikki Haley The group says they're reviewing the request, but that their effort to engage with Haley voters "will not be suppressed."

Super PACs are supposed to be independent of candidates, but many function as a de facto extension of a candidate's campaign committee. Here's an interesting counterexample of a pro-Haley Super PAC endorsing Harris against Haley's wishes
www.cbsnews.com/news/haley-v...

Harris will raise much money on her own, but will fight for the funds she raised jointly with Biden. Candidates receive preferential ad rates & want as much controllable money as possible to spread their message about their vision of the more perfect union
15/15

Historic flood of cash pours into Harris campaign and allied groups Democrats reported raising more than $250 million since Biden announced he was leaving the presidential race and endorsed Harris.

The Washington Post reports that Harris’s campaign and Democratic party committees raised more than $100 million in the first 41 hours after Biden made his announcement.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
14/x

We are in uncharted waters. Harris has already asserted control over the $96 million in the Biden-Harris campaign account, and while a potential lawsuit might try to block her access to those funds, she’ll likely be able to use them.
13/x

Federal Election Commission deadlocks, won't punish Trump The Federal Election Commission has decided not to take action against former President Donald Trump after commissioners deadlocked over whether his campaign broke the law by masking how it was spendi...

Example: this 3-3 tie vote from 2022 on a complaint alleging that the 2020 Trump campaign had illegally avoided spending disclosure requirements
apnews.com/article/2022...
12/x

Will the FEC settle this? With three commissioners from each party, they often deadlock on a 3-3 vote and rulings frequently come years after the fact
11/x

Can Harris — or any other Democrat — access Biden campaign money? Vice President Harris likely has a strong claim to the funds, but not all legal experts agree. Moreover, the Federal Election Commission works too slowly to make much of an impact on the race.

Another FEC Commissioner, Ellen Weintraub, contends that because Harris was a named candidate as part of the Biden-Harris reelection committee, she has a clear claim to the $96 million in the campaign account even if Biden doesn't run
www.npr.org/2024/07/23/g...
10/x

"11 C.F.R. § 110.1(b)(3):
'If the candidate is not a candidate in the general election, all contributions made for the general election shall be either returned or refunded to the contributors or redesignated ..., or reattributed..., as appropriate.'"
x.com/SeanJCooksey...
9/x

So is that the end of the story?
Federal Election Commission Chair Sean Cooksey suggested not when he tweeted a section from federal regulations about what happens when a candidate raises money for the general election but does not run in the fall:
8/x

Back to 2024…. Just hours after Biden endorsed her, Harris filed paperwork to:
1) Change the name of their reelection committee to Harris for President and
2) Rename the Biden Victory Fund joint fundraising committee as the Harris Victory Fund
docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...
7/x

Similarly, Biden was a named candidate as VP as part of Obama’s reelection committee in 2011,
As was VP Dick Cheney as part of George W. Bush’s reelection committee in 2003
docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...
docquery.fec.gov/pdf/753/2303...
6/x

This is not unusual – VP Mike Pence was a named candidate along with Trump on his reelection campaign committee in this 2019 FEC filing, over a year before they were renominated at the 2020 convention:
docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...
5/x

Can Harris access the $96 million in the Biden-Harris campaign account? She has been a named candidate along with Biden as part of the reelection committee since it was established in April 2023:
docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...
4/x