The Democratic National Committee had $16 million in cash and $18 million in debt as of late June. That's not a rounding error. That's a political party that is deeply underwater — owing more than it has on hand while mortgaging its own Capitol Hill headquarters as collateral for a $15 million loan.
The RNC, for comparison, had $128 million in cash and zero debt as of June.
This isn't some minor bookkeeping hiccup. The DNC is beyond broke heading into the 2026 midterms, and the finger-pointing has already started. DNC Chairman Ken Martin is under fire from multiple directions, with California Representative Sam Liccardo calling publicly for his removal: "Ken Martin must resign. As Democrats, we have become too captured by failing strategies." Former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg piled on: "Democrats shouldn't have someone leading the DNC who can't raise money. Let alone someone who throws stuff at staff."
That last part isn't a figure of speech. Reports surfaced in July that Martin threw a phone at a staffer's desk. No one was hurt but staffers were reportedly left frightened, they described his behavior as "paranoid" and "spiraling." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, for his part, offered Martin his "full support" — which in Washington typically means the résumé needs to be updated -- STAT.
Joe Scarborough captured the absurdity of the situation Democrats find themselves in, "When a president's approval rating is at an all-time low...Ken Martin is mortgaging the DNC to pay bills." The party's institutional apparatus is collapsing while its leadership melts down.
Here's what makes this genuinely fascinating rather than just embarrassing. The money isn't gone from Democratic politics — it just isn't going through the DNC. ActBlue, the party's online fundraising platform, raised $586 million in the second quarter of 2026 alone, with $215 million of that coming in June and 573,000 first-time donors signing up. Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, considered on of the most vulnerable Democrats in the upcoming midterms, pulled in $20 million in Q2, bringing his total haul to $81 million with $42 million cash on hand. Texas Senate candidate James Talarico has raised $30 million since April. Maine Senate nominee Troy Jackson raised $2 million in his first 24 hours and holds a 3-point lead over GOP Senator Susan Collins, who has an $11 million war chest, according to a University of New Hampshire poll.
The candidates are flush. The party is broke. Democratic donors have looked at the DNC and decided to route around it entirely — sending their money directly to candidates and through ActBlue rather than trusting the national committee to spend it. When your own donors treat you like a middleman they'd rather skip, that's not a fundraising problem. That's a credibility problem.
The math on the midterms tells the rest of the story. The House has 18 toss-up races out of 435 seats, with 212 leaning Republican and 205 leaning Democratic. In the Senate, there are 8 toss-up races — 5 of them currently held by Republicans — and Democrats need to win 6 of 8 to flip the chamber from the GOP's current 53-seat majority. Those are tight margins that require serious institutional support, coordinated spending, and a functioning national party. The DNC can barely make payroll.
The lingering debts from the 2024 election cycle make up a major portion of the hole. This isn't new spending on new races — it's old losses from Kamala Harris' election they still haven't paid off. They mortgaged their headquarters to cover yesterday's bills while tomorrow's races are already in full swing.
The party that campaigns on managing the entire American economy — healthcare, energy, housing, student loans, the whole portfolio — can't manage a balance sheet with two columns on it. Their donors figured that out. Their candidates figured that out.