WASHINGTON — Several top donors to Future Forward, the Democratic super PAC that spent the most to back Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, do not plan to support her if she runs for president in 2028. The donors contacted gave at least $1 million each to the group in 2024, with some also bundling checks from other contributors.

Harris lost the 2024 election to Donald Trump and failed to capture any battleground states after entering the race late following President Biden's exit. Harris remains undecided about whether to run for president in 2028, according to a person familiar with her thinking, though she told a friendly audience at a New York conference in April that she might run.

Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, who gave $1 million to Future Forward in 2024, signaled support for a different contender. "Gavin is the candidate who can motivate both the left and the center," Hastings said.

Other donors expressed reservations about a second Harris bid. "I think it is too early to pick a favorite in the 2028 race, but Kamala Harris will not be my candidate. I don't think she would appeal to a swing voter, and we need swing voters to win," one donor said. Another said, "A lot of people love her and also don't think that she is the answer for 2028."

Dick Harpootlian, a longtime South Carolina Democratic strategist, questioned her viability in a primary. "She's run, she's lost, so the question's going to be, is there somebody that gives Democratic voters more of a sense that they could win?" he said.

A person familiar with Harris' thinking pushed back on the donor skepticism. "There's a bit of a 'doth protest too much' quality to some of these complaints about the idea of her running. It may be a backhanded way of acknowledging that she'd be quite formidable if she decided to get in," that person said. Harris expects a crowded primary field to split donors and anticipates needing to overcome skeptics' perceptions if she runs.

In April polling by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies/Harris Poll, Harris led the Democratic field with support from 50% of Democrats. Howard University political scientist Keneshia Grant said Black voters will be strategic and optimistic enough to rally around whichever candidate makes a successful case that they can win. "I don't think that they are going to take well to work by elites or the donor class to sideline Harris if there is no clear, reasonable, exciting, Obama-level, yes-we-can candidate instead of her," Grant said.