Source: Politics<\/p>\n
The Democratic National Committee has fallen far behind in the cash race.<\/p>\n
After a brutal 2024 election and several months into rebuilding efforts under new party leadership, the DNC wildly trails the Republican National Committee by nearly every fundraising metric. By the end of June, the RNC had $80 million on hand, compared to $15 million for the DNC.<\/p>\n
And the gap \u2014 nearly twice as large as it was at this stage in Trump\u2019s first presidency \u2014 has only grown in recent months, a POLITICO analysis of campaign finance data found, fueled by several distinct factors.<\/p>\n
Major Democratic donors have withheld money this year amid skepticism about the party\u2019s direction, while the small-dollar donors who have long been a source of strength are not growing nearly enough to make up the gap. And the party has quickly churned through what money it has raised in the first half of the year, including spending more than $15 million this year to pay off lingering expenses from Kamala Harris\u2019 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n
The DNC has less cash this summer than it did at any point in the last five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that donors want some kind of a reckoning,\u201d said Steve Schale, a Florida-based Democratic strategist. \u201cBut I also think that the kind of state party building that I think [DNC Chair] Ken [Martin] wants to do at the DNC is really vital to our success. And so I hope people kind of get over themselves pretty quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fundraising troubles reflect ongoing questions about the DNC\u2019s direction under Martin, who was elected earlier this year, and comes as the DNC has faced months of bitter infighting. Continued cash shortages could limit the party\u2019s ability to rebuild for a new cycle. And the DNC\u2019s money woes stand in particularly stark contrast to Republicans, who have leveraged President Donald Trump\u2019s fundraising prowess<\/a> to raise record sums.<\/p>\n \u201cChair Martin and the DNC have raised more than twice what he had raised at this point in 2017, and our success in cycles thereafter is well documented. Under Ken, grassroots support is strong,\u201d DNC Executive Director Sam Cornale said in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s now time for everyone to get off the sidelines and join the fight. Rebuilding a party is hard \u2014 rebuilding relationships and programs take time and will require all hands on deck to meet this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n The DNC\u2019s money woes stand out among major Democratic groups, POLITICO\u2019s analysis found: Democrats\u2019 House and Senate campaign arms are near financial parity with their Republican counterparts, and several major donors who have withheld funds from the DNC are still giving to those groups.<\/p>\n \u201cDonors see the DNC as rudderless, off message and leaderless. Those are the buzzwords I keep hearing over and over again,\u201d said one Democratic donor adviser, granted anonymity to speak candidly about donors\u2019 approach.<\/p>\n The DNC, on the other hand, touts Democrats\u2019 success in state and local elections this year<\/a> as proof the party\u2019s investments are paying off. The group also began transferring more funds to state parties this year<\/a>, and argues it is better-positioned financially than it was at this time in 2017, when it also significantly trailed the Trump-powered RNC.<\/p>\n Some Democrats attribute the slowdown among donors primarily to the need for a break after 2024, and the challenges of being the party out of power. Large donors would rather bump elbows with high-profile figures like a president or House speaker; Democrats cannot put on those kinds of fundraising events right now. The DNC also struggled for cash<\/a> during Trump\u2019s first presidential term, and that did not stop Democrats from taking back the House in 2018, or winning the presidency in 2020.<\/p>\n Still, the longer the DNC struggles to build up cash, the harder it will be to close that gap heading into the 2026 midterms and beyond. And the fact that other party committees are not seeing the same financial struggles puts more responsibility on Martin and his team to figure out a way to right the ship.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the sooner the DNC and other Democratic-aligned groups can get investment, the better. It\u2019s better for long-term programs on the ground, it\u2019s better to communicate our message early on,\u201d said Maria Cardona, a DNC member and Democratic strategist. \u201cHowever, I think you’re going to see donors coming into those things because they are starting to see Democrats fighting back, and that\u2019s what they want.\u201d<\/p>\n Just 47 donors gave the maximum contribution to the DNC in the first half of the year, according to the POLITICO analysis of the party\u2019s filings with the Federal Election Commission. Over the same period in 2021, more than 130 donors gave a maximum contribution. (In 2017, when the party was similarly struggling with large donors, the figure was 37.)<\/p>\n That means dozens of the DNC\u2019s biggest donors from early last cycle have not yet given to it this year \u2014 accounting for several million dollars the party group has missed out on this time.<\/p>\n Many of those biggest donors have continued to contribute to other Democratic groups and candidates, indicating they are still aligned with the party and willing to dole out cash \u2014 though often not as much, and not to the DNC.<\/p>\n In the run-up to the DNC chair election earlier this year, several large donors publicly preferred Ben Wikler, the Wisconsin Democratic Party chair, to Martin, who long served as the leader of Minnesota\u2019s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and also led the Association of State Democratic Parties.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Ken [Martin] really wanted to impress donors, he\u2019d go do 20 or 30 salon events with donors and let them yell at him,\u201d said the Democratic donor adviser. \u201cIf you take that on the chin, make some changes, then I think we could see some movement. But [he\u2019s] not going to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n With large donors lagging, the DNC has touted record grassroots fundraising<\/a> from online donors. On ActBlue, the primary Democratic online fundraising platform, the group raised $33.8 million over the first six months of the year, up from $27 million over the same time in 2021.<\/p>\n But the total number of online donors was roughly the same in both periods \u2014 suggesting online donors are giving more than they were four years ago, but the group\u2019s donor base has not expanded substantially.<\/p>\n Most DNC donors this year were contributors to Harris\u2019 campaign or the DNC last cycle, according to the POLITICO analysis. Another 14 percent of donors had no record of donations on ActBlue last cycle, suggesting the DNC is finding new small donors \u2014 but not nearly fast enough to make up for the drop-off among large donors.<\/p>\n In fact, the rate of online giving to the DNC has slowed in recent months. The party\u2019s best online fundraising month was March, when it raised $8.6 million on ActBlue from 254,000 donors; in June, the party raised $4.1 million on the platform from 157,000 donors.<\/p>\n And reaching those online donors comes at a cost: The DNC has spent $5.7 million on online fundraising this year, according to its FEC filings. On Meta, which includes Facebook and Instagram, it is one of the largest political spenders this year, according to the platform\u2019s data. The total spent on fundraising expenses so far is nearly as much as the DNC has sent to state parties this year.<\/p>\n Another set of major expenses also stands out for draining the DNC\u2019s coffers: continuing to pay off expenses from Harris\u2019 failed 2024 presidential bid.<\/p>\n