Democratic Party lags GOP in money a year before 2016 polls

WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee barely has more cash than it does IOUs, and it is being outraised month after month by its Republican competitor.

Its $24 million debt from the 2012 presidential election, only recently paid down, has squeezed investments in the next White House race. Underdeveloped party resources such as voter data files could be- come a serious disadvantage for the eventual nominee, particularly if that person is not front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, who would enter a general election contest with her own outreach network.

Those fundraising realities are top of mind as Democratic officials, donors and activists meet Thursday through Saturday in Minneapolis. Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Sens. Jim Webb of Virginia and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island are scheduled to speak to attendees Friday.

Federal Election Commission reports tell a disappointing story for the party: The DNC collected $36.5 million in the first six months of the year and had almost no money in special accounts, including one designated for its convention. It had about $7.6 million in available cash and $6.2 million in debts and loans.

The Republican National Committee, coming out of years in the red, posted $63 million in receipts through June, leaving it with $16.7 million cash on hand and $1.8 million in debts and loans. Party fundraising dominance has flipped: At this point before the 2012 election, the DNC was outpacing the RNC.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the DNC’s chairwoman, said she isn’t worried.

“We are building the organization now to make sure that whoever our ulti- mate nominee is, they are in the best possible position to win next November,” she said in a statement, “and we are confident we will have the resources we need.”

Raymond Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said that, while state parties will always want more, he’s happy with the investments the national committee has made across the country.

“A successful 2016 is going to depend on what’s on the ground locally,” he said, adding that the DNC’s as- sistance to state parties, in the form of enhanced voter files and leadership training, is “light years” ahead of where it was in previous years.

The DNC also is poised to quicken its fundraising pace. Top party financiers meet Friday in Minneapolis. In late September, the DNC will host an LGBT gala in New York, a major fundraiser. And Democratic presidential debates, which begin in October, also may foster donor interest in the party.