Dems debt drama: Once venerable DNC broke, leader under fire as candidates raise big cash elsewhere

Washington Democrats hoping to cash in this fall on voter dissatisfaction with the party in power are massively behind the GOP in fundraising and reportedly in so much debt they've used their headquarters as collateral for a $15 million loan. 

As of late June, the party had $16 million in cash and was $18 million in debt, while its counterpart, the Republican National Committee, has no outstanding debt and $128 million in cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission reports.

A big part of the DNC's financial problems are lingering debts from 2024. 

The party is in the red to such an extent that it put up its headquarters, on Capitol Hill, as collateral for the multi-million dollar loan, NOTUS reported Monday, citing Washington, D.C., deed records. 

The DNC did not previously list the building as collateral in its monthly filings or loan reports with the FEC.

The financial situation has purportedly put a strain on DNC Chairman Ken Martin. 

The New York Times reported this week that Martin's behavior had become “paranoid” and that sources had witnessed “spiraling behavior.” He reportedly threw his phone at a staffer’s desk in July.

Neither the DNC nor the RNC returned requests for comment for this story.

Despite the DNC's problems, Democrats running for office in the November midterms or seeking reelection are successfully raising money.   

The Democratic-aligned fundraising platform ActBlue recently reported that it had raised $586 million for candidates in the second quarter of 2026 alone, including $215 million raised in June. That figure included contributions from 573,000 first-time donors. 

Among the candidates are Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. His campaign said July 15 that its candidate had raised $20 million in the second quarter, bringing his total campaign chest to $81 million, including $42 million on hand. 

He is a top GOP target because he is the only Democrat running in a state that Trump won in 2024, but he's also the top political fundraiser in the country, according to the FEC.

Calls for Martin's head

Martin continues to have the backing of some top Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The New York lawmaker told reporters this week that the chairman has his "full support." 

But other lawmakers and political commentators have begun to call for his resignation.

"Ken Martin must resign. As Democrats, we have become too captured by failing strategies. We must fail forward, and pivot," California Rep. Sam Liccardo posted on X.

MS Now commentator Joe Scarborough did so on Monday in a lengthy screed.

"When a president's approval rating is at an all-time low. ... With Democratic candidates raising money – Jon Ossoff. I mean, good lord, they're raising money left and right. But they are still at this huge disadvantage because Ken Martin ... is mortgaging the DNC to be able to pay bills," he said incredulously on "Morning Joe."

Former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg said this week that Democrats shouldn’t have someone leading the DNC who can’t raise money. Let alone someone who throws stuff at staff and can’t raise money.”

And longtime Democratic strategist James Carville suggested that Hogg should take over in light of Martin's "dysfunctional" leadership.

State of play

The midterms are expected to be a close contest, due in part to the major redistricting efforts across the country that have eliminated many swing districts in the House. 

Cook PVI currently ranks only 18 of the 435 House races as toss-ups. A further 212 at least lean in the favor of Republicans while 205 at least lean toward the Democrats. 

Some analysts, however, seem to think that the Republican Party's redistricting efforts to limit toss-up districts in red states hasn't yielded a map considerably more favorable to them than the 2018 slate, when Democrats flipped the House. 

An analysis by Sabato's Crystal Ball states that by "a number of metrics, the 2026 House map is no more favorable to Republicans than the 2018 map, and it may actually be a little less favorable." In that cycle, Democrats flipped 41 House seats, moving from 194 seats to 235, for a decisive majority.

The race to control the Senate is expected to favor Republicans, largely due to the slate of seats up for reelection this cycle. 

RealClearPolitics ranks eight Senate races as toss-ups, with five of those seats currently held by Republicans. The GOP currently holds 53 seats in the upper chamber and can afford to lose three to keep control of the Senate, due to Vice President JD Vance acting as a tie-breaker. Democrats would, therefore, need to win six of the eight toss-up races to flip the chamber.

Among the toss-up races are Alaska, Iowa and Texas, none of which have sent a Democrat to the Senate since former Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa, and former Sen. Mark Begich, Alaska, both of whom were last elected in 2008. 

Much of the battle for Congress is likely to come down to the ability of either party to funnel money into the limited field of competitive races, presenting a potential big problem for Democrats at the national level.

While ActBlue consistently lists the major Democratic fundraising arms, including the DNC and their House and Senate campaign committees, trending candidates on the platform are running laps around them.

As of press time, the top trending candidates for fundraising are Ossoff, new Maine Senate nominee Troy Jackson, Texas Senate nominee James Talarico, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and former Sen. Sherrod Brown, of Ohio.

Jackson, who recently took over as the party nominee after Graham Platner withdrew, reportedly raised $2 million within the first 24 hours of his campaign, according to MS Now.

He still has a long way to catch up to GOP Sen. Susan Collins's $11 million war chest, according to Politico. But a recent University of New Hampshire poll showed him with a three-point lead over Collins, suggesting he may not need to match her monetarily to win.

In mid-July, Talarico announced that he had raised $30 million since April, nearly doubling the amount of total funds available to the DNC.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.