Black operatives criticize Harris campaign spending

Black Democratic operatives and minority-owned firms are raising alarms over spending practices in Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. They accuse the campaign of favoring white-owned vendors while sidelining Black-owned firms. The controversy, first reported by& NOTUS, a nonprofit newsroom created by the Allbritton Journalism Institute, has caused growing frustration among Democratic leaders, operatives, and donors. Many fear that these missteps could harm Harris’ standing with voters of color in the crucial weeks before Election Day.Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, expressed frustration in an August call with Harris’s campaign. Alongside other prominent Black leaders, Johnson questioned why minority-owned political firms—historically integral to Democratic campaigns—were not receiving a fair share of the campaign’s record-breaking fundraising, nearly $1 billion since Harris became the Democratic nominee.“If Black voters are the base, it should be Black vendors telling the story,” a participant on the call told NOTUS. Yet despite pressing the issue, many left the conversation with no clear resolution. Johnson and other leaders reportedly vowed to escalate their concerns, demanding transparency on how the campaign allocates its funds and why there appears to be a lack of equitable spending with minority-owned firms.One point of contention is Harris’ underinvestment in the& National Newspaper...