The abrupt withdrawal of President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee last year, followed by Vice President Kamala Harris’ rapid ascension as his replacement, frustrated many voters excluded from the process. Yet social media appeared saturated with enthusiasm and Gen Z-friendly appeal.
Influencers flooded platforms with neon matcha-green pro-Harris videos set to beats from Charli XCX’s album Brat, released last year. Journalists gushed that the pop-rave visuals showcased Harris embodying the album’s “confidently independent” vibe. Memes proliferated, framing Harris as a champion of queer and Black youth against Republican “white supremacy.” In one viral TikTok, digital creator Amelia Montooth kissed a woman and joked about searching for pornography—actions her skit implied would be banned if Harris lost.
The scale of spending and outreach for the pro-Harris 2024 effort was unprecedented.
Harris, a career politician aligned with the Democratic establishment, hardly fit the mold of an activist icon. Yet the influencer buzz briefly recast the former prosecutor as a cultural zeitgeist figure. However, this enthusiasm was not entirely organic. Much of the content, including Montooth’s videos, was quietly funded by Democratic billionaires and major donors in arrangements designed to obscure the payments from voters.
Internal documents and WhatsApp messages obtained by RealClearInvestigations reveal Democratic strategists’ behind-the-scenes influencer campaign. Way to Win, a major donor group, spent over $9.1 million on social media influencers during the 2024 election—a figure disclosed here for the first time. The spending was highlighted in a post-election memo outlining the group’s achievements.
The initiative supported over 550 creators who produced 6,644 posts across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch, and X. Way to Win coached them on messaging, issues, and themes to “disseminate pro-Kamala content,” per the memo.
The campaign exposed how Harris’ image was partly manufactured through covert marketing tactics typically used by corporations and interest groups—creating an illusion of organic support via trusted social media voices.
Way to Win worked with Democratic-aligned influencers like Harry Sisson, Emily Amick, and Dash Dobrofsky, as well as non-political creators known for travel, comedy, or cooking content. These influencers were supplied with “positive, specific pro-Kamala content” to shape online discourse.
“Bro who is Tim Walz?” joked @AbeeTheArtist, a Way to Win-backed TikTok creator. “He’s a football coach, that’s hard. It’s time for Republicans to drop out—it’s not looking good for y’all!”
Identity Appeals Fall Flat
Way to Win touted a data-driven approach, using AI tools to test messaging. Liz Jaff, a strategist with the group, explained how talking points were refined and distributed to influencers for organic-seeming posts. Yet the results were often clumsy.
The group funded cringe-worthy projects like Ilana Glazer’s Microdosing Democracy, where the Broad City comedian endorsed Harris while smoking a spliff. Another series, Gaydar, featured New York street interviews about gay trivia with little electoral relevance.
A Way to Win-funded caravan toured cities with an inflatable IUD to warn against a supposed Trump contraception ban. Meanwhile, Watering Hole Media, aimed at Black men, hosted discussions linking Harris to the Black Panthers and Nation of Islam. These efforts flopped—some videos garnered fewer than 40 views.
Where Did the Money Go?
Questions linger over Harris’ campaign spending, including $1.5 billion in late-stage expenditures on consultants and ads. A $100,000 temporary podcast set was criticized as wasteful.
Way to Win defended its influencer program, claiming “nearly a billion views,” but its impact was dubious. Despite the hype, youth, Latino, and Black male voters shifted significantly toward Trump.
The payments exploited legal gray areas. Way to Win funneled money through nonprofits to influencer agencies, avoiding FEC disclosures. Unlike TV ads, social media promotions lack transparency requirements, leaving the space largely unregulated.
While Republicans also pay influencers, the pro-Harris effort was unmatched in scale. Way to Win framed it as necessary to counter conservative media dominance, even suggesting Harris would’ve won if more Americans relied on TikTok for news.
