The Satellite Economy of Democratic Politics, Part I
Burn rates, vendor pressure, and the math behind scaling a primary
Since filing for Congress, I’ve had vendors coming out of my ears.
Compliance firms. Digital fundraisers. Data vendors. Texting tools. AI persuasion products. Everyone has something I “need” immediately.
That’s part of stepping into federal politics. The ecosystem activates fast.
And to be clear, there are serious professionals doing valuable work in this space. Campaigns need compliance. They need infrastructure. They need data. I’ve worked with some of the best.
In our Attorney General race, Celinda Lake polled our race right where it landed — she did President Biden’s race in 2020, too. (Polling and trying to sway a polarized electorate is an entirely different conversation for another day.) I’ve also worked with team members who live here, have skin in the game, charge modestly, and nickel-and-dime themselves because they care about outcomes. We paid for our own gas. We never comped meals. That’s what buy-in looks like.
But here’s what you learn quickly as a candidate:
There is always too much to do and never enough time to do it. Prioritization becomes survival.
The other day, I picked up a vendor call. When you’re running, you take the calls. You don’t know which conversation will matter. He launched into a pitch about the next best technology stack — something I may well need eventually.
I was on the move. “Put me down for a demo Tuesday at 1.”
Later, when I needed to reschedule because I was building the basic architecture of a campaign—website, platform, and donation page (all built myself—easily saved $5-7k!)—the response was indignant. The assumption seemed to be that if I had scheduled it, I owed him the time regardless of what else was happening.
Campaign time does not work that way.
The truth is, there is a whole satellite economy orbiting Democratic politics. It’s layered, professionalized, and very good at convincing candidates that every product is urgent.
And if you aren’t disciplined, that economy determines your trajectory early.
In politics, we talk about burn rate — how quickly you spend what you raise. A campaign that burns too fast early puts itself in a position where it cannot scale. You need to build a nest egg. That money ultimately has one job: get in front of voters. Mail. Digital. Field. Cable, if you can afford it.
Keeping burn below 50% going into primary season isn’t a slogan. It’s basic math.
When I reviewed recent Congressional fundraising covered by the Capital Chronicle, I was struck by how much had already been spent.
An opponent, George Hornedo, raised $148,889.22 and loaned himself $55,000 — $203,889.22 total. Cash on hand: $26,520.78.
That’s roughly an 87% burn rate.
An 87% burn rate in January limits your ability to scale through May.
The satellite economy absorbs campaigns that don’t guard against it.
When I jumped into this race, I already understood something about voter enthusiasm. I’ve run on the ticket before. Andre Carson has represented this district for 18 years. The voter performance numbers show where enthusiasm for his representation has plateaued. That’s observable in turnout and engagement patterns.
Knowing that and seeing Hornedo’s inability to scale, I saw an open lane to Congress where we need to be having conversations about these things and the need for continued campaign finance reform.
Campaigns facing challenges have to be disciplined about where dollars go.
I’ve been in this race for one week. We are assembling a volunteer-led team. That is intentional. A strong grassroots campaign raises most of its funds from low-dollar donors. For us, that’s $200 and below. (Yes, $200 is meaningful — especially when people give repeatedly.)
I’ll also make the high-dollar calls. The maximum federal primary contribution is $3,500. I’ve raised $1 million in two months before. I know how to do it. It’s not my favorite part of the job, but it’s necessary.
That being said, I present you little purple button:
I got a question the other day about why I’m taking time to write this Substack right now.
It’s a fair question.
Yes, it’s a peek behind the curtain. But it’s also a playbook. The do’s and don’ts. The context about who is who in the zoo and why campaigns feel the way they do once you step inside them.
There are young campaign teams out there trying to figure this out in real time. There are candidates who don’t yet know what questions to ask vendors. If sharing this helps one campaign protect its burn rate or think twice before signing a contract, it’s worth the time.
Please pass this along — especially to younger teams. I’ve picked up a trick or two along the way.
If you want to help us build a disciplined campaign that keeps its focus on voters, may I introduce again our little friend called the purple button:
— Destiny
Paid for by Wells for Congress.