# Ex-fundraiser: Democrats hid Harris ranked last in replacement poll

> A former Democratic insider claims internal polling showed Harris was the weakest candidate to face Trump, but party leaders chose her anyway.
- Title: Ex-fundraiser: Democrats hid Harris ranked last in…
- Summary: A former Democratic insider claims internal polling showed Harris was the weakest candidate to face Trump, but party leaders chose her anyway. According to…
- Keywords: kamala harris, joe biden, 2024 election, democratic party, lindy li, internal polling, biden replacement, presidential race, democratic national committee, pete buttigieg, gavin newsom, gretchen whitmer
- Source: Fox News — https://foxnews.com/politics/ex-dem-insider-drops-bombshell-where-harris-ranked-secret-poll-biden-replacements
- Author: Leo Briceno
- Published: 2026-09-16T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: kamala harris, joe biden, 2024 election, democratic party, lindy li, internal polling, biden replacement, presidential race, democratic national committee, pete buttigieg, gavin newsom, gretchen whitmer
## Secret poll ranked Harris last
Former Democratic fundraiser Lindy Li claims internal polling showed Kamala Harris ranked dead last among potential Biden replacements, far behind Pete Buttigieg, Gavin Newsom, and Gretchen Whitmer.

> Kamala Harris came in dead last. It wasn't even close.
## Party ignored polling data
Li says the polling numbers contradicted the narrative Democrats wanted to tell. The data was closely guarded among top party operatives and fundraisers but circulated within the National Finance Committee.

> The polling numbers went directly against the narrative that the party wanted to espouse.
## Fear of alienating Black voters
Li says party leaders feared that bypassing Harris would be a slap in the face to Black women, a bedrock Democratic constituency, so they felt compelled to nominate her despite the polling.

> 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.
## Harris supporters intimidated party
Li claims Harris positioned herself as the inevitable choice by leveraging devoted supporters online. She says the K-Hive, Harris' fan base, was small but toxic and coordinated, making party leaders fear being labeled racist.

> 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.
## Li details strategy in new book
Li, who switched parties over concerns about Biden's decline, is chronicling the months before Biden's withdrawal in her book Unburdened. She worked closely with top donors and the Democratic National Committee as a major fundraiser.
## Key takeaway

According to Lindy Li, Democrats conducted secret polling that ranked Harris last among potential Biden replacements, yet selected her due to fear of backlash from her supporters and concerns about alienating Black voters.