The DNC's cash crunch deepens as new filings show Republicans with a huge advantage
The Republican Party's main fundraising arm has nearly five times the cash on hand of its Democratic rival, new campaign reports show, underscoring the troubles faced by the Democratic National Committee and its embattled chairman, Ken Martin.
The RNC entered June with about $72.4 million in cash reserves, nearly five times the $15 million stockpiled by the DNC, as the two parties gear up for gubernatorial races this fall and next year's costly midterm elections for Congress.
The wide gap – revealed late Friday in filings with the Federal Election Commission – follows a tumultuous few months for Martin and the DNC that included a public feud with the party's former vice chair. The party's cash crunch is serious enough that party officials have weighed seeking a line of credit to help it stay afloat, a development first reported by The New York Times.
Earlier this week, two union leaders who were longtime DNC members resigned from the party's leadership, shortly after vice chair David Hogg departed his post following months of acrimony with Martin.
Democratic fundraisers interviewed by CNN say the string of bad news has undermined Martin and the DNC at a time when Democrats need a forceful voice to counter President Donald Trump and the Republicans who control all the levers of power in the federal government.
One current DNC member said Democrats need be more 'aggressive' on messaging and increase coordination between Democrats' legal and political strategies. To fundraise, they said, Democrats need to be clear about what message the money is promoting.
'I wouldn't feel comfortable picking up the phone and asking for money,' the DNC member said. 'What's the message? What's the elevator pitch?'
But party observers also acknowledge that any change in the DNC's chairmanship is unlikely given Martin's longtime ties to party members and strong base of support among state party chairs. Martin, who won his chair race overwhelmingly on the first ballot, has also nominated some of his allies to key committee roles while allowing other slots to be filled by DNC caucus members. That's led to some DNC members – including several who backed his opponents – with less prominent positions.
DNC officials insist the party's finances are in good shape – relative to the same period in 2017, the year after Democrats lost to Trump the first time. And on Friday evening, they touted the money raised since Martin's ascension to the role in February as the most collected in the first four months of a new chairmanship.
Right now, the committee is relying heavily on small-dollar donors – which officials point to as a sign of grassroots' backing for the party and its policies.
More than 65% of the funds the DNC collected from individual contributors through the end of May came in amounts of $200 or less, compared to about 47% of individual donations to the RNC, the new filings show.
'What matters is winning elections, making Democrats competitive everywhere, expanding our tent, and putting our party on the right path,' Martin said in a statement. 'This is only the start, but it's a record-setting start that allows Democrats to meaningfully invest in every part of the country.'
But the months of public intraparty feuding have clearly taken a toll.
In April, then-vice chair David Hogg announced that he planned to help primary incumbent Democrats he deemed 'asleep at the wheel' – breaking with Martin's pledge to enshrine officer neutrality in the party's bylaws.
Earlier this month, Hogg opted not to seek re-election to his position after the committee voted to redo his and another officer's election over an unrelated procedural issue. Days before that vote, a recording was leaked in which Martin said the feud had hurt his ability to do his job.
'I'm trying to get my sea legs underneath of me and actually develop any amount of credibility, so I can go out there and raise the money and do the job I need to to put ourselves in a position to win,' Martin said to Hogg in the leaked recording of a private May 15 DNC officer meeting, as reported by Politico. 'And again, I don't think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to.'
Then, this week, news broke that two labor leaders – American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten and AFSCME president Lee Saunders – had departed the DNC. The two alluded to disagreements with Martin's leadership as reasons for leaving.
Martin has strong ties with the state party chairs who make up a significant portion of the party's more than 400-person membership. As chair, he's campaigned in several down-ballot races, and the DNC announced it would send an additional $5,000 a month to states.
Those investments have helped bolster his support with state party leaders. Even critics who say he hasn't done enough on fundraising or message acknowledge his efforts to build up the party's infrastructure.
At the same time, strong messaging and infrastructure require strong fundraising.
Martin and his allies have argued that the drama surrounding Hogg and the departure of the two top union officials is a distraction. The core mandate of the DNC, they say, is to win elections, which the party has done consistently this year. Democrats in state and local races have overperformed in more than 30 races and special elections, flipping some Republican-held state legislative seats and winning key contests like April's Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
'He is rolling up his sleeves. He is getting to work. He is focusing on the goal at hand,' Maria Cardona, a longtime DNC member and CNN political contributor, said of Martin. 'There have been, clearly, internal distractions which have been tough to deal with, but that has not taken away his focus from winning.'
Cardona acknowledged that donors may be less willing to give to Democrats after 2024's election losses right now but said that's a natural consequence of electoral defeat. She expressed confidence that donors would come around.
'Donors are exhausted, donors are frustrated, donors are pissed off, right? They gave $2 billion last cycle, and we didn't win. So I understand that,' Cardona said. 'That's normal. That is something that happens every cycle, especially when you lose.'
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