The Democratic National Committee — apparently strapped for cash — took out $15 million in loans, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission Thursday.
The loans were taken out in October, just before the
gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia where over $6 million was spent to help those Democratic candidates, Politico reported.
Another hundreds of thousands of dollars was spent in Pennsylvania to help Democrats keep control of the state’s Supreme Court.
Democrats won all those elections.
The DNC spent $16.9 million in October, which is the most it has spent in this year.
The loans were first reported by the New York Times.
The DNC said the loans are to help States ahead of the midterm elections in 2026.
On the other hand, the Republican National Committee had $86 million in its coffers at the end of September.
DNC Chair Ken Martin said this was an investment in the party’s future.
“We can’t win elections or fight back against Trump if the D.N.C. downsizes operations like it often does after a presidential cycle,” Martin said. “I made a bet that investing early would build power, rack up wins and rally supporters back to the table. That bet is paying off.”
Although the DNC has taken out loans before, they are not taken this early in the cycle or of this grand amount.
In Trump’s first term, the DNC reported $3.2 million in debt in November 2017 and more than $7 million a few months later, according to past FEC filings.
“The DNC has not reported more than $15 million in total debt since February 2014,” per Politico.
The DNC coffers took a hit earlier this year when it paid off $18 million from former Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed 2024 campaign.
