Despite a history of decrying dark money, Harris is now reaping the rewards of big, secret political donations.
By Helen Santoro, The Lever
As a junior Democratic senator in 2019, Vice President Kamala Harris took direct aim at dark money, co-sponsoring election reforms that would have revealed the identities of the megadonors behind these secretive efforts to sway elections.

“It does not represent justice in America when dark money is fueling elections and when the few who have the greatest amount of wealth behind a veil without even presenting themselves or their names, manipulate and fuel the election process,” she said in a speech at the time. “We’ve got to take that money out of politics.”
But now, as her presidential campaign benefits from millions in contributions from secret donors — including a whopping $20 million donation from Democrat’s main dark-money group a week after she became the party’s presumed nominee — what is Harris saying about untraceable political spending?
So far this election cycle, not much.
During last week’s presidential debate, Harris and former President Donald Trump discussed hot-button topics including the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the war in Ukraine — but said nothing about the concealed political donations that have aided both presidential campaigns.
Behind the scenes, political committees supporting Democratic candidates have reported more than $100 million in dark-money contributions this election season, while committees supporting Republicans have reported similar amounts. According to OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign finance and lobbying data, dark-money groups are on track to contribute more money to this election than ever before.
Recent Posts
CNBC Host Doesn’t Know How to Fix Runaway Healthcare Costs. Ro Khanna Says: Medicare for All
October 25, 2025
Take Action Now As health insurance companies rake in billions in profits, the California Democrat argues that a single-payer system would help US…
Labor, Community Groups Rally Against Trump’s Threats Of An ICE Invasion
October 24, 2025
Take Action Now White House backs off—for the moment—but the community is organized and readyBy JJ Lansing, 48hills Labor leaders and community…
The Data Brokers Fueling ICE’s Deportation Machine—And The Union Shareholders Fighting Back
October 23, 2025
Take Action Now “As investors, we are thinking about this as a risk to our investments, but also as a social and ethical issue.”By Maurizio…
The Murdering Of Boaters Is Public, Not Secret
October 23, 2025
Take Action Now Murdering boaters is not legal or illegal depending on whether the emperor has called his victims “terrorists.”By David Swanson,…




