Under-Fire Democratic National Committee Raises $8.6 Million In June

The Democratic National Committee raised $8.6 million in June, with under-fire committee Chair Ken Martin setting a record for out-of-the-gate fundraising, but the group badly trails its GOP counterpart.

The Democratic National Committee had $15.2 million on hand as of the end of June, according to freshly filed Federal Election Commission reports. The Republican National Committee, however, raised $16.2 million in June and has a whopping $80 million on hand ― a better than 5-to-1 advantage.

It’s typical for the party in power’s committee to out-raise its opponent, since it can deploy the sitting president to raise cash. But Democrats have grown worried about the party’s fundraising, with The New York Times reporting last month that party leaders had discussed taking out a loan this year to cover expenses.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin has helped the party raise $50 million since assuming the job in January.

via Associated Press

Nonetheless, the party touted the $50 million it has raised under Martin as a record when compared with similar time frames for other new party chairs.

“Around the country, people are energized, ready to fight back, and empowering Democrats to win elections,” Martin said in a statement. “The DNC is breaking grassroots fundraising records, bringing on more volunteers than ever, and raising record-setting funds to beat Republicans. Democrats are back in the ring thanks to grassroots energy across all 50 states, and together, we’re going to defeat the toxic Republican agenda and put this country back on track for hard-working families.”

Martin, a former chair of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, has spent much of his tenure embroiled in a fight with now-former party Vice Chair David Hogg, a Parkland school shooting survivor and activist who is aiming to launch generational challenges against party incumbents.

And Martin ― along with every other major Democratic Party leader ― has struggled to inspire a restive base unhappy with the 2024 election loss. Still, the party is aiming to corral and take advantage of anti-Trump energy, with the party hosting 138 town halls in GOP-held congressional districts across the country in the past four months and boasting a volunteer force of 30,000.