Not many Americans donate $200 or more to political campaigns, and until Vice President Harris became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee it was looking like fewer would donate in 2024 than four years ago.
Double-hating both candidates wasn’t good for small-dollar contributions apparently. Now, with the Harris campaign’s fundraising program ramping up, it begs the question: Will more small-dollar contributors get in the game? The answer to this question is significant—especially for down-ballot contests.
Some fundraisers have speculated that donors are actually a limited resource that could get burned out by overly aggressive fundraising tactics. Others believe that, given the ever-increasing cost of running for office, that the pool is infinite—especially with digital outreach becoming more sophisticated cycle after cycle. These practitioners see the statistic of less than 2 percent of Americans donating more than $200 to campaigns in 2020 and think: “There’s room for growth.”
The question now is: If the influx of donations that poured into the Harris campaign after President Biden announced he wouldn’t remain at the top of the ticket continues, will that siphon money away from other races? Or will it be a rising tide that lifts all fundraising boats?
Some Democratic fundraisers say that Harris has, in fact, re-energized small-dollar donors who had closed their wallets as the cost of living increased dramatically in recent years. But others told C&E they haven’t seen any real impact for their clients down ballot.
“Biden’s decision and Kamala’s deft handling in locking up the nomination so quickly has energized Democrats across the board, which is a great sign for us,” said Mike Nellis, founder of fundraising shop Authentic.
He said following Biden’s announcement there’d been an 800-percent increase in fundraising for “major” clients running in down-ballot races. “I haven’t seen that much this cycle, where it trickles down.”
Some data re-enforces Nellis’ experience. For instance, NGP VAN said its donation platform saw a 600-percent surge over the 48 hours following Biden’s announcement on July 21st. That was compared to the previous week across the Democratic/progressive ecosystem.
Other practitioners have had a different experience. Fundraiser Kalani Tissot said his Nevada-based shop hasn’t seen the kind of influx that Senate races or Harris’s campaign is seeing right now.
Still, he sounded a positive note. “My general take is that people are excited about politics, they are thinking about the upcoming election, and they’ve never been more eager to chat with local candidates and elected officials about what’s going on,” he said. “This is a prime moment for call time and engaging your supporters. Don’t let it go to waste.”
