The Democratic National Committee has struggled to raise the money necessary to beat out Republicans amid lingering doubts about the Democratic Party’s direction.
At the end of June, the DNC had just $15 million on hand compared to the Republican National Committee’s $80 million, according to Politico. The DNC has less cash on hand at this point than at any point in the last five years. The DNC has reportedly spent this year helping to pay off $15.8 million in coordinated expenses with former Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign. Harris spent over $1 billion in an effort to beat President Donald Trump.
One critical aspect of Democratic fundraising woes is the lack of support from large donors, who have shied away from giving the maximum amount. Forty-seven donors, about a third of the number who gave in the same period in 2021, gave the maximum amount.
Large Democratic donors and small donors have stayed away from the party. After its loss in both congressional chambers and the White House, there hasn’t been a definitive Democratic leader. Contenders such as Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), JB Pritzker (D-IL), and Tim Walz (D-MN), along with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), have tried to step up to the plate.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has also been active, but none of the contenders has convinced voters to rally around them. Newsom, Buttigieg, and Ocasio-Cortez all lost out in a 1-on-1 race with Vice President JD Vance, according to a July Emerson poll.
Buttigieg ran the closest, losing out to Vance with 43% of the vote to Vance’s 44%.
Democratic strategists believe the national party apparatus hasn’t done enough to convince voters.
“I don’t think that the DNC has given Democrats good reasons to donate,” Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky told the Washington Post.
Other Democratic strategists want voters to “get over themselves” so the national party can build up state parties across the nation.
“I understand that donors want some kind of a reckoning,” Steve Schale, a Florida-based Democratic strategist, told Politico. “But 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.”
Republicans have enjoyed prolific fundraising. Trump’s own super PAC, MAGA Inc., has raised more than $177 million in the first six months of his second term and has more than $196 million on hand.
In the first half of the year, the National Republican Congressional Committee raised $69 million, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee brought in about $48.6 million. Both campaign committees beat out their Democratic counterparts.
Republicans will not hesitate to shell out their campaign cash for the 2026 cycle, and if the fundraising disparity continues, Democrats could find themselves in an uphill battle to recapture a congressional chamber.
Democrats are still optimistic.
“Obviously, the sooner the DNC and other Democratic-aligned groups can get investment, the better. It’s better for long-term programs on the ground, it’s better to communicate our message early on,” Maria Cardona, a DNC member and Democratic strategist, told Politico. “However, I think you’re going to see donors coming into those things because they are starting to see Democrats fighting back, and that’s what they want.”
Former DNC Executive Director Sam Cornale said Martin has raised more than twice what Democrats did in 2017.
“Chair 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,” Cornale said. “It’s now time for everyone to get off the sidelines and join the fight. Rebuilding a party is hard — rebuilding relationships and programs take time and will require all hands on deck to meet this moment.”
DEMOCRATS TO CONSIDER GAZA RESOLUTIONS AT DNC SUMMER MEETING
Amid the redistricting war between California’s Democrats and Texas’s Republicans, the congressional map landscape could be very different. Trump has urged several other states to redistrict, efforts that Democrats have opposed. But Republicans hold more statehouses than Democrats, which gives them the power to draw lines in most states.
Whoever wins the map-drawing battle will have a major edge in 2026. As with any political movement, fighting redistricting requires campaign funds. Democrats, for now, could find themselves with an uninspired fundraising base if they can’t ratchet up efforts.
