A few days after the 2024 election, in which President Donald Trump delivered Kamala Harris one of the most stinging electoral losses in the last few cycles, I had occasion to talk to an old friend of mine about the election. My old buddy is a deep-blue, urban progressive, and yes, I know, but we have maintained a strange Oscar Madison-Felix Unger friendship for many years despite our political differences. He was, of course, downcast about the election, blaming it on racism and sexism. I told him flat-out that he was wrong, and wrong-headed, to boot. Kamala Harris lost, as I told him, because "she is abrasive, she is inarticulate, and honestly, she's not very bright." He didn't like that. But we're still buddies.
Now Kamala is making breathless noises about running again in 2028, and while her abrasiveness, inarticulateness, and lack of intelligence are still major problems, she may have a bigger one: DNC donors may utterly abandon her, over her 2024 loss and because of the Democrats' sharp lurch to the commie left. At least one former DNC fundraiser is very skeptical of Kamala's chances.
A former Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser warned Saturday on "My View with Lara Trump" that major donors are unlikely to support former Vice President Kamala Harris in another presidential run, arguing the party is struggling with internal divisions, fundraising problems and a weak 2028 field.
Lindy Li contended that political donors view their contributions as a "business proposition" and will not continue backing candidates or organizations they believe mishandled their money.
Li criticized the party’s post-election accountability and said donor frustration is contributing to broader Democratic fundraising problems.
"There's been no accountability. The autopsy that they sent out was basically a sham, and they couldn't even stand behind it. They didn't even mention the fact that Kamala Harris is a terrible candidate," she said.
That's all obvious enough. Reinforcing failure is never a good option, and the Democrats have, to their (reluctant) credit, rarely done so. Republicans will bring back a favored candidate after an electoral loss; I could cite Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan as examples. But the Democrats tend to eat their wounded. That is what we can expect to happen to Kamala Harris.
The other factor, though, is the leftward lurch of the younger Democrats.
Li made the case that Democratic fundraising troubles are connected to dissatisfaction with the party’s drift leftward, criticizing Democrats for embracing socialist policies.
"This is why donors like me left the party in droves. And this is why they are so… broke. They literally had to put up their own headquarters… as collateral. They can't even get a text back from donors. So I don't want to hear anything about a big tent. You should not be normalizing socialism like this," she said.
Well, she's not wrong. The swerve towards "democratic socialism," which is communism in all but name, is going to hurt Democrats in 2026 and 2028. This is a swerve that's happening mostly among younger voters, certain daffy old Bolsheviks from Vermont notwithstanding, and the major donors aren't 30-year-old Gender Studies majors still living in Mom's basement. With age comes, usually, moderation and some modicum of wisdom, although Democrats seem to have a severe shortage of that latter attribute; but the major donors Lindy Li is talking about, along with the old-line blue-collar Democrats that she mentions, aren't having any of the commie nonsense.
Kamala may still be mustering up some hubris about her 2028 chances, because polling is still showing her with an edge. But that won't last. More candidates will emerge. Kamala will have to come out and start making public appearances, which has traditionally been hemlock for her. And the donors haven't begun to weigh in yet.
Barring something truly unexpected, the Democrats won't be bringing this loser back to blow another presidential election.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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