(Daily Caller) Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has reportedly said it rejects money from lobbyists, but a Daily Caller News Foundation review of campaign finance records casts doubt on this claim.
Dozens of lobbyists have contributed to Harris’ campaign since the vice president took over President Joe Biden’s reelection operation on July 21, an analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) records shows. The deluge of lobbyist cash came after The New York Times and Politico reported that Harris was continuing Biden’s policy of not accepting direct contributions from individual lobbyists.
Lobbyists pouring money into Harris’ campaign work to influence policy on behalf of a wide range of industries, including everything from tech to marijuana, disclosures show. Organizations repped by Harris’ lobbyist donors include tobacco and vaping giant Altria, a marijuana interest group, Apple, the Dow Chemical Company and a bio-fuel trade group, among many others.
Harris has a history of pledging to forgo lobbyist cash but accepting it anyway, taking over $100,000 from lobbyists at firms such as DLA Piper, Venable, DCG and others during her 2020 presidential campaign, breaking her promise at the time, the Washington Examiner reported.
“Our campaign is not taking a dime from corporate PACs or lobbyists — and that was a very deliberate choice,” Harris promised in a February 2019 email to supporters, according to the Examiner. “Yes, it means we are leaving money on the table. But that’s ok with me.”
While FEC records indicate that the Harris campaign isn’t holding to its current promise to avoid donations from lobbyists, the pledge itself doesn’t prevent lobbyists from making contributions to support her election effort. The Democratic National Committee (DNC), which can spend funds to support Harris’ run for the White House, has no prohibition on accepting donations from lobbyists.
The Harris campaign is aware of this backdoor, sending vice presidential nominee Tim Walz to a lobbyist-heavy fundraising event hosted by former Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe last week, according to Politico. Invites to the event, which ultimately raised $1.2 million, reportedly said that the Harris campaign does not accept donations from lobbyists but that the DNC does.
Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is embraced by U.S. President Joe Biden during a campaign event. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Harris, despite taking money from corporations and lobbyists during her time as a senator and presidential candidate, has long decried the influence of money on politics.
