Pro-Kamala PACs Poured Nearly Half A Billion Down The Drain Last Month Trying To Drown Trump

Political committees spent hundreds of millions of dollars during the month leading up to the election on a failed last-ditch effort to defeat President-elect Donald Trump, campaign finance filings show.

Outside groups spent $442.7 million on independent expenditures designed either to support Vice President Kamala Harris or to oppose Trump between Oct. 5 and Nov. 5, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show. On the other side of the equation, PACs only spent about $160.7 million supporting Trump and opposing Harris over the same period. Despite the massive financial advantage, Harris lost the Electoral College and is on track to lose the popular vote as well, according to the New York Times’ projections.

“It’s so sad that campaign spending determines outcomes,” American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Tim Carney said sarcastically on X, responding to a chart showing that Democrats outspent Republicans on ads in every swing state.

Independent expenditures paid for by Trump and Harris allies bankrolled advertisements, direct mail, phone banking and canvassing operations, among other campaign activities, campaign finance records show. The bulk of the work done by outside groups to support Harris in the final stretch of the election came in the form of media purchases, with over $330 million spent in one month to reach voters through TVs, smartphones and radio waves.

Harris’ allies largely relied on dark money — where the original donor is unknown — to fund their home-stretch spending spree, according to FEC records. Future Forward PAC, the primary super PAC that supported Harris, was responsible for about 70% of the pro-Harris and anti-Trump spending during the final month of the election.