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<\/figure>\n\nIt\u2019s been a rough few days for Ken Martin<\/b>.<\/p>\n
A burst of stories has raised fresh questions<\/a> about the Democratic National Committee chair\u2019s temperament<\/a> and lack of fundraising prowess<\/a>. But the more consequential problem continues to be the committee\u2019s books<\/a>.<\/p>\n The DNC ended June<\/a> with $16.3 million in cash and $18.5 million in debt \u2014 putting it about $2.2 million in the red. It is a staggering hole compared to the numbers of the Republican National Committee, which held $128.5 million and reported no debt<\/a>.<\/p>\n For months, Martin and his allies have predicted that Democratic victories and the approaching midterms would bring major donors back. The midterms are now approaching. The money has not followed.<\/p>\n Martin is not new to criticism. But beneath the latest turmoil is the problem that has dogged his tenure from the start: Cash.<\/p>\n Few Democrats expected the DNC to keep up with a Donald Trump<\/b>-led Republican Party that controls all levers of power in Washington. Martin\u2019s allies note that his committee is doing better than the committee at a comparable time in 2018 and spending the money it raises to help build infrastructure and invest in state parties. But for more than a year, it has failed to reassure major donors that its finances are improving \u2014 or back up when they said they would.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s slow. … There is still the hangover from 2024 for big donors,\u201d Jaime Harrison<\/b>, Martin\u2019s predecessor who still fully supports his besieged successor, told us of big money fundraising. \u201cThat is the real rub. They just need to warm up.\u201d<\/p>\n We reported<\/a> in April that Martin had been telling people for months that a string of Democratic victories last November would lead to a fundraising boost. The wins happened, but the money didn\u2019t follow, especially from moneyed donors.<\/p>\n At the time, Democrats close to Martin suggested things would turn around in the coming months, as donors and voters began to pay more attention to the coming midterms.<\/p>\n That has not happened.<\/p>\n Top-dollar Democratic donors continue to sit on their hands \u2014 and checkbooks \u2014 as the committee struggles to raise money. Republicans, meanwhile, are swimming in it<\/a> \u00e0 la Scrooge McDuck<\/b>.<\/p>\n According to Clara Ence Morse<\/b>, our ace data reporter, six individuals donated at least $100,000 in June <\/b>to the Democratic National Committee or its Grassroots Victory Fund committee. By comparison, in the first half of 2026, 35 individuals gave $100,000 or more to the Democratic committee or its fund. Meanwhile, the figure for the Republican National Committee alone is 154. And its many fundraising committees have raised millions more from megadonors.<\/p>\n Democratic committee officials say its high-dollar fundraising remains ahead of the comparable point in 2018, the last time a midterm under a Republican president. In June 2018, they said, only three donors gave at least $100,000 to the committee, half of what they received this June.<\/p>\n \u201cThey do have a different type of donor base, they do have a different way that finances are arranged, and they do have historically a different philosophy,\u201d Chris Lowe<\/b>, the committee\u2019s national finance co-chair, said of Republicans. \u201cSo, I\u2019m not sure we are ever going to view ourselves as directly in financial competition there.\u201d<\/p>\n Martin himself used a lengthy Substack post to argue that power, not money, should be the grading scale of his DNC<\/a>, pointing to all the wins Democrats have notched nationwide. And DNC officials have sought to compare this iteration of the committee with 2018, not the Republicans they are currently fighting.<\/p>\n But in another move of the goalposts, some Democrats are now telling us that they don\u2019t expect top-dollar donors to come back to the Democratic National Committee until right before the midterms, once it is clear that Democrats have a good chance to flip the House and possibly take the Senate.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t feel like this can be fixed between now and November,\u201d said Rufus Gifford<\/b>, a longtime Democratic fundraiser who wrote a blistering criticism of the committee he once worked for. Gifford, who is hosting fundraisers for House and Senate candidates in the coming weeks, said his \u201cfocus is on making sure we win back the House and the Senate and then going into 2027. That is when I really feel like we need to fully address the issues that are on the table with the DNC.\u201d<\/p>\n Lowe responded to critics by arguing the committee\u2019s shift from relying on major dollar donors to living on grassroots donations reflects \u201ca massive change in how political fundraising operates.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNone of this comes easy,\u201d Lowe concluded. \u201cWe have what we would say is quite an aggressive budget. We\u2019re ahead of that budget so far this year. And I think we will continue to be ahead of or meet that budget this year.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n Even so, it is unlikely Martin will be going anywhere anytime soon.<\/p>\n First, he has received votes of confidence from some of the party\u2019s most powerful officials.<\/p>\n \u201cThe chairman has my full support,\u201d House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries<\/b> (D-New York) said while campaigning in Pennsylvania over the weekend. \u201cWe look forward to our continued partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n But second, and possibly more important, is that it is difficult to remove a DNC chair. <\/i>Many members remain loyal to Martin. And under the bylaws, the chair often controls when the committee meets. <\/i><\/p> Read more This grandma fought for a bill to allow happy hour at retirement homes<\/a><\/p>\n Political pressure can force a chair to resign, however. Debbie Wasserman Schultz <\/b>resigned as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee in July 2016 ahead of the party\u2019s national convention after leaked emails<\/a> showed she and party officials preferred Hillary Clinton<\/b> over Bernie Sanders<\/b> in the party\u2019s presidential nominating process.<\/p>\n That just isn\u2019t likely to happen before the midterms. We spoke to multiple DNC members on Monday who flatly said there was no effort afoot to oust Martin, despite some public agitation for his departure<\/a>.<\/p>\n What happens after the midterms is more of an open question.<\/p>\n \u201cThey keep moving the goalposts,\u201d said a Democratic strategist close to the committee. But they argued those money questions will become particularly important once the Democratic committee turns its focus to the presidential nominating process, its central function. \u201cAnd the buck comes due for 2028 when the goalposts can\u2019t move anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats are ready to spend big in Arizona.<\/p>\n The Democratic Governors Association tells us they plan to make an initial investment of $10 million on the effort to reelect Gov. Katie Hobbs<\/b>, the state\u2019s Democratic incumbent. Hobbs\u2019s race represents one of Democrats\u2019 clearest opportunities to hold on to the governor\u2019s mansion in a battleground state ahead of the crucial 2028 presidential race.<\/p>\n Rep. Andy Biggs<\/b>, a Trump ally, won the Republican gubernatorial nomination earlier this month, invigorating Democrats who think they can quickly define a candidate who represents the far right of the party and has been a devout election denier<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear<\/b>, the chair of the Democratic governors\u2019 campaign arm, told us that despite Arizona representing \u201cone of the toughest battleground states,\u201d Hobbs is in a strong position, in part, because Biggs is \u201crunning with the full-throated support of Donald Trump and Turning Point USA after leading the charge to overturn the 2020 election.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs national Republicans are set to pour millions into this race to try to make Andy Biggs the first election denier in charge of a swing state, the stakes are incredibly high,\u201d Beshear said.<\/p>\n The Republican Governors Association has yet to put money behind Biggs\u2019s campaign, a notable difference from 2022 when the association announced in March that they would spend $10.2 million on the Arizona race<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kollin Crompton<\/b>, spokesperson for the Republican association, said they have and \u201cwill continue to hold Katie Hobbs accountable for her dismal record.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear Arizona is in desperate need of new leadership,\u201d Crompton said. \u201cAndy Biggs is focused on making Arizona affordable for families, protecting communities from illegal immigration and crime, and securing Arizona\u2019s energy for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Stateline<\/b>: As prices rise, state attorneys general are stepping up their consumer protection work nationwide, pledging to fight high prices<\/a> and investigate businesses for possible price gouging. It\u2019s politically astute \u2014 nothing is invigorating voters more right now than prices.<\/p>\n Oregon Capital Chronicle<\/b>: In a sign of the economic times, multibillion dollar grocers Walmart and Amazon have among the most listed employees on publicly funded health care, according to an analysis of Oregon Health Authority data<\/a>. Not all employees at the companies qualify for employee-sponsored health care. \u201cOne in six of the most listed employers on Medicaid forms in Oregon was a major grocer and retailer,\u201d the publication reported.<\/p>\n Danville-San Ramon (California)<\/b>: California prisons are increasingly using people \u2014 not technology \u2014 to sound the alarm on fires in prisons. \u201cBetween 2020 and 2025, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has spent nearly $50 million on \u201cfire watch\u201d staffing costs. In recent years, prison employees have spent roughly 270,000 hours monitoring for smoke or fire,\u201d the paper reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n We asked about whether Trump supporters are excited to be Trump supporters ahead of the 2026 midterms. Polls and data show Democrats are way more excited to cast a ballot.<\/p>\n \u201cThis issue for Republicans is a slippery slope \u2014 I would like to understand how promoting \u201crigged\u201d elections encourages voter turnout,\u201d wrote Patricia Rennau<\/b>, referring to those Republicans who say Trump is focused on invigorating his base.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people I know who voted for Trump in 2024 do not seem as energized this cycle. A couple have expressed they like some of his policies but are embarrassed by the way he conducts himself,\u201d wrote Bob Miller<\/b>. \u201cDemocrats have their own problems. Candidates are very anti-Trump, but don\u2019t articulate any meaningful policies, particularly on affordability.\u201d<\/p>\n And John Frank<\/b> wrote that his sense was Trump supporters in 2024 \u201cwere swept up in the messaging about how Biden was frail and should never have been elected.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut now after he\u2019s been in office for almost half his term, the promises of a better America have worn off. High gas, food and housing costs are a reality. People who weren\u2019t struggling are now forced to look for second incomes or trim their budgets to survive financially. … Not uncommon in a mid-election,\u201d wrote Frank.<\/p>\n A rift is emerging between the president and Senate Majority Leader John Thune <\/b>(R-South Dakota). Trump on Monday demanded that Thune<\/a> keep the Senate in Washington through their August break to pass a voting bill that he has said would \u201cguarantee the midterms\u201d for Republicans. Our colleague Theodoric Meyer<\/b> reports that \u201cthe bill, the Save America Act, would require Americans to prove their citizenship to register to vote and to show photo identification when voting.\u201d<\/p>\n So we wanted to ask you: Is showing your ID to vote too high a bar for you? In your view, should showing your ID before you vote be required? Why or why not? Let us and your fellow Early Brief readers know at earlytips@washpost.com<\/a>.<\/p> Read more A literary outdoorsman, he helped popularize bodybuilding and co-created paintball<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/19e48579c78f65c3102321bd56ea309f-1024x683.jpg\")
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