‘Donors see the DNC as rudderless, off message and leaderless,’ a Democratic adviser says
The Democratic National Committee is trailing far behind its Republican counterpart by nearly all fundraising metrics, as donors view the Democratic Party as “rudderless, off message and leaderless” months into President Donald Trump’s second term, according to a Monday report.
“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,” Politico reported. “By the end of June, the RNC had $80 million on hand, compared to $15 million for the DNC.” The fundraising gap has only widened since then, with the DNC reportedly having less cash this summer than at any point in the past five years.
The DNC’s financial woes come as many Democrats have become increasingly frustrated with Chairman Ken Martin’s leadership. In June, one DNC member called Martin “weak and whiny,” while another said the chairman has been “invisible.” The Monday report indicated that major Democratic donors agree, having “withheld money this year amid skepticism about the party’s direction,” while “the small-dollar donors who have long been a source of strength are not growing nearly enough to make up the gap.”
“Donors see the DNC as rudderless, off message and leaderless,” a Democratic adviser told Politico. “Those are the buzzwords I keep hearing over and over again.”
The committee, which has already spent more than $15 million on expenses from Kamala Harris’s failed presidential campaign, is grappling with money problems even as donors keep contributing to other Democratic groups and candidates, according to Politico.
The DNC has seen bitter infighting since Martin took the helm early this year. The committee ousted vice chair David Hogg in June, after Martin blasted Hogg’s $20 million scheme to fund primary challenges against “ineffective, asleep-at-the-wheel” Democratic incumbents. The turmoil escalated when two of the party’s most influential labor leaders quit their DNC posts, citing the party’s direction under Martin.
After powerful American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, a Hogg ally, resigned from her DNC role, Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.) said he wanted “a party with a big tent and inclusion, not subtraction and pushing people out,” while Rep. Mark Pocan (D., Wis.) wrote on X that he would “love to have a day go by that @DNC doesn’t do something embarrassing & off message.”
“If Ken really wanted to impress donors, he’d go do 20 or 30 salon events with donors and let them yell at him,” the Democratic adviser told Politico, adding, “If you take that on the chin, make some changes, then I think we could see some movement. But [he’s] not going to do that.”
