MILWAUKEE (AP) - The 2020 Democratic National Convention, which became a mostly virtual event because of the coronavirus, is expected to finish in the red, but a leading fundraiser say it will not fall to the city of Milwaukee to foot the bill.
The convention’s host committee raised more than $42.7 million for the event, which was moved to a smaller venue, scaled down and postponed from July to August, according to federal filings and information from organizers.
The Federal Election Commission filing shows the host committee still has more than $1.5 million cash on hand. But officials said they expect that amount will not be able to cover all of the operating expenses that are still outstanding, the Journal Sentinel reported.
The committee’s board chairman, John W. Miller, said he’s confident officials will be able to come up with the money to balance the books and that it will not be left to city taxpayers.
“I can’t be clear enough about this,” Miller said. “This is not a Milwaukee expense. Nobody in Milwaukee will pay it. I will find it somewhere else. We’ll finish clear.”
The total cost for the event exceeds $57.7 million, with the 2020 Democratic National Convention Committee spending $13.4 million.
The biggest donors to the event included national unions and local businesses and corporations with the National Education Association topping the list at $3.5 million, according to organizers.
The largest individual donor was billionaire investor and Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, who donated $1 million through the Metropolitan Milwaukee Area Chamber of Commerce.
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