Democrats still paying off Kamala’s campaign debt as party gets smoked by GOP in fundraising

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is falling far behind Republicans in the race for cash as the party continues to pay off debt from the Harris-Walz 2024 presidential campaign, Politico reported Monday.

Weighed down by lingering debt from the 2024 presidential election and low donor enthusiasm, the DNC reported just $15 million on hand by the end of June, marking the lowest number for Democrats in five years, according to Politico. By comparison, the Republican National Committee (RNC) reported nearly $80 million on hand, creating a gap nearly twice as wide as it was at the same point in President Donald Trump’s first term.

The DNC spent $15.8 million on expenses tied to former Vice President Kamala Harris’s failed 2024 presidential campaign. The Harris campaign reportedly ended with approximately $20 million in debt, after burning through roughly $1.5 billion in just 15 weeks to take on Trump.

A major factor behind the fundraising shortfall is a pullback by some of the party’s largest donors. Only 47 donors gave the maximum allowed contribution to the DNC in the first half of 2025, compared to more than 130 four years ago, according to Politico.

Republican House and Senate committees are also outraising their Democratic counterparts. The National Republican Senatorial Committee raked in $48.6 million during the first six months of the year, while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee brought in roughly $40 million.

“It makes total sense that the DNC would be at its lowest point in five years, since they no longer have the president to do fundraising and steer money to the committee,” GOP polling analyst Jon McHenry told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Factor in the utter debacle of the Biden candidacy, and that’s a recipe for a down fundraising cycle.”

Democrats are pointing to grassroots fundraising through ActBlue as a bright spot, reporting $33.8 million in the first half of the year, up from 2021 levels, according to Politico. However, the total number of online donors has not grown since 2021, indicating that the DNC is generating more funds from the same base of supporters.

Moreover, fundraising costs are eating into those totals, with the DNC spending nearly $6 million on digital ads and other online fundraising efforts so far this year, the outlet reported.

The Democrats have struggled to regroup after the 20204 election loss, torn between moving toward the center or embracing its progressive factions.

Gun control activist and former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg was removed from his post after announcing plans to primary some of the “out-of-touch, ineffective” older House Democrats in 2026. At the same time, DNC Chairman Ken Martin has said that progressive voices like Democratic socialists Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aren’t being shut out and are unlikely to hurt Democrats’ chances in upcoming elections.

McHenry cautioned the GOP against assuming the fundraising gap will be a decisive advantage in the midterms. Even as Democrats struggle financially, Republicans will need to sell the public on Trump’s signature One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which Democrats are hoping to frame as a massive cut to programs like Medicaid.

“In the midterm, I don’t think that’s a fatal blow,” McHenry said. “The House elections are going to be driven more by the economy and voter attitudes toward President Trump than whether New York, for example, has matching funding from the DNC for voter turnout.”

The DNC did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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