‘You must act fast’: Katie Porter is selling her fundraising list — at a discount

Rep. Katie Porter is holding a fire sale for her highly prized fundraising list as she scrambles to raise last-minute cash in California’s Senate race.

Porter is among the country’s best online fundraisers, and her private database of donor emails and phone numbers is a top-performing asset in Democratic politics.

The new sales offers, which in recent days went out to digital advisers and were obtained by POLITICO, state that the list has generated $75 million over recent election cycles. Prices for past donors start at $.65 each.

“Reaching out because we are selling Katie Porter’s email and phone lists to a select group of potential buyers for a limited time only until COB March 1st,” the solicitation states. “There will be no exceptions to this timing, so you must act fast.”

While it’s not uncommon for politicians to sell their fundraising lists after an election or in the closing days of a general election, doing so during a primary is an unusual and risky move, and if Porter does advance beyond March 5, she will need to rely on those donors in a likely rematch with another fundraising juggernaut, Rep. Adam Schiff.

Selling her list could cheapen its potency, subjecting donors to fundraising requests from other campaigns at a time when Porter herself would want to draw more money from them.

Nathan Click, an adviser to Porter’s campaign, confirmed the sales effort and argued she needs to use any means necessary to take on Schiff and his allies. Porter is also facing an onslaught of spending from a super PAC funded by billionaires in the cryptocurrency industry.

“Schiff and his shady billionaire allies are spending tens of millions of dollars lying about Katie Porter for one reason: they know Californians will overwhelmingly pick Katie over Schiff in a head to head general election,” Click said. “We aren't going to allow Schiff (and the shady billionaires backing him) to rob Californians of that opportunity.”

But the sale comes at a moment of financial desperation. Schiff is outspending Porter by millions of dollars on the TV airwaves. And campaign finance records this week show he had more than $13.6 million in his campaign account in mid-February compared with her less than $5 million.

Middle Seat, Porter’s digital team, has set a minimum buy at $15,000, but says it is willing to negotiate discounts for orders above $200,000, according to one solicitation circulating among consultants.

Digital consultants told POLITICO the rates Porter is offering are competitive, especially for such a potent list.

They are charging $.65 per donor and $.13 for nondonors on the list. Donors who have clicked and opened a solicitation are priced at $.85 apiece while people who have clicked and opened a fundraising pitch but not donated are $.25 each.

Phone numbers are $.45 for donors and $.08 for nondonors.

It’s no longer unusual for politicians who build hefty donors bases to sell their online and phone lists (used to text supporters) to other campaigns, party groups or strategy firms after campaigns have concluded or even deep into general election standoffs. The fresh lists are especially valuable as online donor fatigue has begun to set into a fundraising ecosystem plagued with hyperbolic demands for cash. Using vetted lists of donors allows a campaign to more efficiently target its fundraising appeals.

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman in the waning days of his successful Pennsylvania Senate campaign sold some portion of his list directly to Sen. Bob Casey days before the Nov. 8, 2022, midterm election.

Fetterman also made list sales ranging from $1 million to $1.2 million arranged by three digital firms. The firms often handle sales on behalf of clients and thus their names appear in Federal Election Commission filings.

But it’s far less common to sell donor data during the home stretch of a primary campaign, let alone a primary in which the candidate is hoping to take on a member of their own party. If Porter does advance, any sale she makes of her list can dilute its value to her.

Thelatest polling has Porter behind Schiff, battling for second place with Republican Steve Garvey.

Buying a list doesn’t mean officials can just automatically raise the same money from those same donors. It’s hard to say how well Porter’s followers will translate to other candidates, given her distinct brand as an academic-turned-politician who drives a junk-filled minivan and totes around a little whiteboard to excoriate corporate executives who she believes have amassed unchecked power.

Middle Seat stipulated that names and phone numbers are temporarily not transferable to another party. However, they may be transferred or sold after the election on Nov. 5, providing the buyers with extra value because they can later themselves resell the list.

The donor data cannot be used until March 7, after California’s primary.

The terms are subject to negotiation.