Harris campaign prepares for extended election litigation
3 Min Read
Harris' team warns donors to prepare for "four to six weeks of lawsuits from all sides."
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Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at a campaign rally in Washington, on October 29, 2024. (AP)
Campaign officials for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris have indicated that it may take several days to determine a winner in the presidential race, but they are preparing for potential legal challenges that could prolong the process for weeks, regardless of the result.
One Harris campaign adviser told CNN, “There’s going to be a month of litigation hell."
Given the tight race, which is likely to lead to legal challenges, and the preparations already being made by Republicans, Harris' team has warned donors to prepare for "four to six weeks of lawsuits from all sides," according to a senior financier involved in the discussions.
A second major donor told CNN that the campaign advised it would need to either conserve funds or raise additional capital to cover the substantial legal expenses expected from defending against those challenges.
Dana Remus, the outside counsel for the Harris campaign, explained that attorneys have been stationed nationwide to address challenges involving vote counts, recounts, and audits, all of which she referred to as "legitimate."
This week, Remus said that “The election is decided by the American people, and there is no way to overturn those results,” adding that “Our institutions won’t allow it, including the Supreme Court.”
Soaring fears of unrest
Moreover, Harris and Trump appear to be locked in a razor-thin race, with national opinion polls showing little change in recent weeks.
The situation is similar in seven critical swing states—Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and North Carolina. Recent polling has failed to reveal a clear pattern or advantage for either candidate in these electoral battlegrounds, although most experts agree that the winner of Pennsylvania is likely to gain a significant edge.
“If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax,” Trump, 78, declared at a rally in Reading during a frantic final day of campaigning in the state. Later, in Pittsburgh, he framed the election as a choice between “a golden age of America” if he returned to the White House or “four more years of misery, failure, and disaster” under Harris, as he articulated it.
Harris, 60, spent all of Monday in Pennsylvania, wrapping up her campaign in Philadelphia alongside singer Lady Gaga and TV personality Oprah Winfrey, who warned about the threat Trump poses to democracy. “We don’t get to sit this one out,” Winfrey stated. “If we don’t show up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again.”
