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FIRST ON FOX: Lindy Li, a former Democratic fundraiser who switched her party affiliation over unheeded warning signs about President Joe Biden’s decline in the 2024 election, says Democrats had internal polling showing that Kamala Harris was far from the party’s best shot at beating Donald Trump.
But that polling wasn’t convenient.
“The polling numbers went directly against the narrative that the party wanted to espouse,” Li said.
“They knew that skipping over Kamala Harris would be a slap in the face to the bedrock of the party, which is Black women in particular, and they just wouldn’t have it,” Li told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
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Lindy Li, a former Democratic fundraiser, poses with President Joe Biden at a 2023 campaign event. (Lindy Li)
Li is chronicling the months leading up to Biden’s withdrawal from the race in her new book, “Unburdened,” revealing that the party’s internal thinking behind why Harris was made the nominee and how many of the party’s top figures had long known that Biden’s age had created an unavoidable political liability.
Li recalled that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Harris had been floated as possible replacements for Biden before Biden announced his decision to step down.
According to Li, Harris was at the bottom of the group.
“Kamala Harris came in dead last. It wasn’t even close. Pete Buttigieg, who hilariously received 0% support from the Black vote, did better than she did. And yet the party is so straitjacketed by DEI that they had no choice but to appoint her,” Li said.
As a top fundraiser for both Biden and Harris, Li worked closely with top donors, high-profile members of the party and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). She recalled how the polling was guarded closely, but that it circulated among the party’s leading operatives and fundraisers like herself.
FORMER DNC FUNDRAISER SAYS MAJOR DONORS WON’T BACK KAMALA HARRIS AGAIN AS PARTY FACES DIVISIONS
Former Vice President Kamala Harris discusses her memoir “107 Days” at the Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival in London on Oct. 23, 2025. (Manning/PA Images via Getty Images)
“I’m part of the National Finance Committee. The list of membership is guarded like the papal conclave. But people talk. It’s a very small group of people. That poll was commissioned internally,” Li said.
“Most of the time I would say I don’t believe a candidate’s polling because it’s basically just funded propaganda. But in this case, we wanted an objective overview of who could actually mount the most formidable opposition to Trump.”
At the end of the day, Li believes that the decision to put Harris at the top of the ticket was made, at least partially, out of fear.
In addition to being the vice president and an obvious replacement consideration for Biden, Li recalled that Harris had devoted followers who would make it painful to explore other options.
“People were terrified of the online mob. The K-Hive isn’t that numerous, but they’re very, very toxic and they’re very coordinated. No one wants to be labeled as a racist,” Li said, referring to the nickname for Harris’ supporters.
Li believes that, using that fear and by positioning herself close to Biden’s donors, Harris made herself the choice the party couldn’t turn a blind eye to, despite knowledge of her weakness as a candidate.
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Lindy Li, a former Democratic fundraiser, pictured alongside former President Joe Biden. (Lindy Li; Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
“Oscar-worthy. Honestly, truly Oscar-worthy,” Li said.
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Representatives for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.