Democratic Party candidate for the White House, the US vice president lost to Republican Donald Trump
US Vice President and Democratic Party candidate for the White House, Kamala Harris, spent US$1.5 billion (R$8.73 billion) in 15 weeks of campaigning. Even so, Donald Trump (Republican Party).
According to a newspaper report, around US$100 million (R$582 million) was spent per week on advertising, support from digital influencers, field actions, employee payments, rallies, a program with presenter Oprah Winfrey, artist shows and drone presentations.
To arrive at the amounts spent, the The New York Times was based on Federal Election Commission records and interviews with 15 Democratic campaign officials, as well as close allies of Kamala Harris.
According to the publication, it is not clear how much Trump spent, but it was “much less” than Kamala. A newspaper source said that the US president-elect and the Republican Party raised US$1.2 billion (R$7.99 billion).
The Democratic campaign’s spending and the election results, according to the publication, made some party supporters question whether investing in celebrity events would be more ostentatious than effective. Kamala held rallies alongside names like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera and James Taylor.
The artists were not paid, the newspaper’s sources said. But the support team got paid for their work. The bill for rallies held on the eve of the election exceeded the planned budget. It is estimated to have exceeded US$10 million (R$58.24 million).
The biggest costs were advertising. From July 21 to October 16, financial records show that the Democratic campaign spent US$494 million (R$2.8 billion) on producing advertising pieces and purchasing space on television and digital media outlets. Sources of The New York Times declared that this figure is closer to US$600 million (R$3.5 billion).
The Democrats’ campaign directed US$2.5 million (R$14.5 million) to 3 digital agencies that work with influencers.
Roland Martin, who has a music channel streaming and runs the media company Nu Vision Media, received US$350,000 (R$2 million) in September for a “media buying”. According to him, it was advertising.
Democrats twice donated US$250,000 (R$1.4 million) to the National Action Networkan organization led by Reverend Al Sharpton, who interviewed Kamala Harris on the network MSNBC in October.
The Democratic team paid more than US$12 million (R$69.88 million) in polls from July 21 to mid-October.
One payment caught our attention: US$1 million (R$5.82 million), to Harpo Productions. In an Instagram post, the presenter said that the company was paid to provide things such as scenery, lights, cameras, microphones and production staff.
Here are other expenses published by The New York Times:
- US$111 million (R$646.42 million) in online advertisements asking for donations;
- US$100 million (R$585.3 million) transferred to directories in states important to the dispute;
- US$70 million (R$407.6 million) in mail advertisements;
- US$28 million (R$163 million) to produce campaign materials.
Together, President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris raised around US$2.15 billion (R$12.5 billion). Since the defeat, the Democratic campaign has been asking supporters to donate more money, raising suspicions that the party has not been able to pay off all the debts incurred in this year’s elections.
Patrick Stauffer, the campaign’s finance director, said there were no outstanding debts or past-due bills as of Election Day. Party officials have stated that donations made after the election are being channeled to the Democratic National Committee.
