Kamala Harris’s Presidential Campaign Owes $1.1 Million to Vendors

(Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris has more than $1.1 million in unpaid bills from her unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Harris raised about $39 million for her presidential bid in 2019, including transfers from her Senate campaign account, while spending about $40 million, the FEC filings show. She suspended her campaign in December, amid declining poll numbers and fundraising, with some of her vendors ending up with unpaid bills.

On Tuesday, Democratic nominee Biden announced that she would be his running mate, making her the first Black and Indian-American woman on a major party presidential ticket.

Perkins Coie LLP, the international law firm whose election lawyers work for top Democrats, was owed $523,883 at the end of June. Corporate and private security provider TorchStone Global LLC was owed $160,702, while SCRB Strategies, a California political consulting firm had $92,408 in outstanding invoices.

Harris’s campaign ended June with $116,380 in the bank, not enough to pay off her the debts. This year, donors have given a little more than $48,000, including maximum $2,800 donations from Cornerstone OnDemand Inc. co-founder Adam Miller and his wife Staci. Under federal law, the campaign can’t be shut down while it has outstanding debts.

Although Biden has already held big-dollar fundraisers with her, his cash-flush campaign can only offer modest financial support. It can donate $2,000. The Democratic National Committee can give just $5,000. But Biden can ask his donors to contribute to Harris’s campaign.

After Hillary Clinton formally ended her unsuccessful 2008 quest for the Democratic presidential nomination with $20 million in debts, the party’s nominee, Barack Obama, asked his supporters to help retire her debt. She didn’t fully pay back what she owed until 2013. As secretary of state, Clinton was legally barred from raising money to pay off her campaign’s obligations.

Obama’s successful 2012 re-election effort didn’t pay off all of its vendors until early in 2016. The campaign ended 2012 owing $5.6 million with cash on hand of $3.3 million.

Harris’s debt isn’t extraordinary for an unsuccessful primary bid. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign owed $1.8 million at the end of June; it had $833,314 in the bank. Senator Cory Booker, who like Harris dropped out before facing voters, had $785,890 in debt against cash of $30,900.

But Harris has other means of erasing the debt that don’t require a surge of new donations. She made more than $386,000 in April and May by renting her list of supporters to a digital consulting firm, and most likely can continue to bring in revenue that way. And if the campaign has any remaining physical assets, like computers or furniture, she can try to find buyers.

In January, she made $8,390 selling equipment to hedge fund manager Tom Steyer’s unsuccessful presidential campaign.

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