Dem
47
GOP
53
The job of the chairman of the DNC is to raise lots of money for Democrats. Chairman Ken Martin is failing at his job. After the massive wins in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races last year and the many blowouts in special elections around the country, he was expecting big checks to come pouring in. There haven't been any big checks, especially not from top donors.
The money is badly needed. The DNC has $15.9 million in the bank to go with $17.4 million in debt. The RNC has $109 million in the bank and no debt. The national committees are dependent on big donors who understand how things work. Small donors are willing to pony up for specific candidates they like in a race they understand, but giving $25 to help wipe out the DNC's debt or help state parties in the South hire full-time employees is a tough sell to most small donors.
Martin got the job based on the votes of the 448 voting members who represent 50 states, 6 territories and Democrats Abroad. He promised to give each of these entities $1 million/month and let them use it as they saw fit. He hasn't even made the first installment and sees no way to even come close. This situation has made it impossible for the DNC to play much of a role in 2026, whereas the RNC is sitting on a mountain of money and is busily plotting how to use it best.
This situation is not new. After Trump was elected in 2016, Democratic donors were also demoralized and shut their wallets hard. In Feb. 2018, the DNC was also in debt and the RNC had four times as much cash on hand. But 2018 was not a good year for the Republicans.
Nevertheless, as the midterms approach and the Democrats have high hopes of at least winning the House, larger donations are starting to pick up. Mia Ehrenberg, the DNC spokesperson, said there were 11 donations of over $100,000 in Q1 of 2026 that haven't been reported yet.
What also has been a problem is infighting within the DNC. It spilled out into public view when then-vice chair of the DNC, David Hogg, wanted to spend money to defeat incumbent House Democrats who he accused of being out-of-touch and ineffective. Having the vice chair using scarce funds to defeat incumbent Democrats really got Martin's back up. He told Hogg to cut it out or quit. Hogg quit. He is still trying to primary older blue dogs and replace them with younger other-colored dogs, but now outside the DNC.
Another sore point is that after Kamala Harris' defeat, the DNC commissioned an autopsy report to see what the cause was so they could learn from it. The report was completed and Martin refused to release it. Many DNC members didn't like that. They felt everyone in the party should be aware of what they did wrong so as to be able to correct it in the future.
Many members suspected that the report said that Joe Biden was at fault for not announcing in Jan. 2023 that he would not run for reelection in 2024, which would have allowed for a normal primary process. Then, when Nancy Pelosi finally made it clear to him that his debate with Donald Trump was an unmitigated disaster, he rammed Kamala Harris down her throat. Many voters resented that. Given the timeframe, it is not clear what could have been done, but delegates to the Democratic National Convention had already been chosen, and formally the Convention chooses the nominees. Biden could have released his delegates, arranged for interested and plausible candidates to each get 30 minutes to make their case before the Convention, and then have the Convention actually choose the nominee, just like in the old days. It would have generated massive publicity, to say the least. He didn't even try.
In any event, the DNC is in a deep hole and it is Martin's job to get out of it. (V)