The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) raised more than $11.5 million last month, according to details shared first with The Hill on Friday.
The Democratic House campaign arm’s February haul, which will be reported to the Federal Election Committee (FEC) over the weekend, shattered the group’s previous record for the most raised in February of a midterm election cycle. The average online donation was just $16, the committee said.
The DCCC entered March with nearly $26 million in cash on hand. It also paid off $2 million of its $13 million debt.
Even with the 2022 midterms still almost 18 months away, money is pouring into both parties’ campaign committees.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is set to report raising $7.2 million in February, while its GOP counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, will report bringing in $6.4 million in the same time frame.
The DCCC also outraised its GOP counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), in February by more than $4 million. Financial reports filed with the FEC over the weekend showed that the NRCC brought in about $7.2 million last month and entered March with a little less than $15.7 million in the bank.
The DCCC’s latest fundraising haul puts it in a stronger financial position than it was at this point in 2017, when Democrats set their sights on recapturing a House majority during former President Trump’s early days in the White House.
In February of that year, the committee reported raising $9.8 million over the course of the month. At the time, it had only about $12.8 million in the bank.
But if the stakes for Democrats were high then, they are just as high now. Republicans need to flip only five House seats in 2022 to retake control of the lower chamber. And with decennial redistricting fast-approaching, GOP state legislatures could carve out a handful of favorable congressional districts in battleground states like Florida, North Carolina and Texas.
Democrats are hoping to head off a midterm thrashing by touting the recently signed American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus and relief bill meant to help combat the economic and public health effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
That legislation has so far proved popular, with recent polls showing wide swaths of voters — and even significant numbers of Republicans — supporting the package.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), the chair of the DCCC, touted his group’s fundraising windfall as a sign of the broad support for the legislation, which passed through the House last week without Republican support.
“Americans are sending a clear message that they’re ready to hold congressional Republicans accountable for voting against much-needed economic recovery and vaccine funding so we can crush this pandemic and get our lives back to normal,” Maloney said in a statement.
“Thanks to our incredible grassroots supporters and the hard work and leadership of Speaker Pelosi, the DCCC is able to hit the ground running early this cycle with bold investments across our battleground to remind voters of the clear contrast between Democrats who delivered the relief our communities need, and Republicans who stood in the way.”
–Updated on March 23, 2021 at 10:50 a.m.