Inside the DNC’s money problems
From POLITICO: The Democratic National Committee is exceptionally far behind on fundraising compared to the RNC, with only $15 million on hand compared to the RNC’s $80 million. The problems are compounded by heavy spending in the first half of the year, as the DNC spent more than $15 million to pay off debt from Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. The DNC has seen a significant falloff in donations from the megadonors on whom it has previously relied, although small-dollar donations are holding steady.
Sherrod Brown raises $3.6M in 24 hours since launching Senate bid
From The Hill: Sherrod Brown, the former Democratic Senator from Ohio who lost his re-election bid in 2024, has announced that he will be running for Senate in Ohio again in the special election 2026. In the 24 hours after he announced his campaign, he raised more than $3.6 million. His campaign claims that 95% of the donations were less than $100. Three million of the funds raised went to his campaign, while the remaining $600,000 went to “affiliated joint fundraising committees.”
Trump’s political operation is sitting on nearly $240 million
From OpenSecrets: Political committees connected to President Trump are holding more than $237 million from fundraising this year, as well as transfers from committees with funds left over from 2024. Most of this money ($196 million) is held by MAGA, Inc., a Super PAC formed in 2025 that received $10 million from Make America Great Again, Inc., which had supported Trump’s campaign and was shut down. Trump’s campaign committee, Never Surrender, was converted into a PAC after the election and now holds over $38 million. These PACs will be able to spend their funds on future elections, particularly the 2026 midterms.
Adams Donor Avoids Prison After Admitting to Campaign Finance Scheme
From The New York Times: Erden Arkan, a Turkish-American businessman, pled guilty to making straw donations to NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign, after he gave employees at his construction firm money to donate to Adams’ campaign. Arkan must pay restitution and a fine, but will not serve jail time. Arkan’s lawyer complained that Arkan was still facing conviction after even the federal investigation into Adams for bribery, fraud, and soliciting illegal foreign donations from Turkey was dropped.
