The U.S. Democratic Party is struggling with sluggish campaign fundraising ahead of the November midterm elections.

While Democrats are eager to recapture majorities in both the federal Senate and House of Representatives by taking advantage of declining approval ratings for President Donald Trump, who leads the Republican Party, they lack the funds necessary for the party's campaign activities.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 2nd (local time) that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has secured $16.3 million in campaign funds.

This amounts to only about 12 percent compared to the $128.5 million held by the Republican National Committee (RNC).

Democrats also trail Republicans in fundraising for the Senate campaign committee ($41 million) and the House campaign committee ($79 million), compared to the Republicans' $55.9 million for the Senate and $92.7 million for the House.

Similar to funds for nationwide party election activities, fundraising performance for super PACs supporting party or candidate advertisements also shows Democrats trailing Republicans.

MAGA Inc., a prominent Republican super PAC and Trump-supporting organization, raised $400.6 million, while the Senate Leadership Fund raised $238.6 million and the House Leadership Fund raised $141.8 million.

In contrast, major Democratic super PACs showed $126.5 million for the Senate Majority PAC and $89.9 million for the House Majority PAC.

This situation stems from traditional Democratic donors, such as George Soros, dubbed the "godfather of hedge funds," keeping their wallets closed ahead of this election.

Soros and his son Alex donated more than $400,000 to the DNC during the 2018 midterm elections, and their donations exceeded $1 million during the 2022 midterms.

This year, their donation amount stands at $0.

Beyond the Soros father and son, other major donors, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, are also reluctant to donate to the national Democratic party apparatus this year.

One Democratic strategist told the WSJ that a joke circulates among donors that DNC stands for "Do Not Contribute."

While Democrats believe they will have no trouble securing a House majority even if not the Senate, they are in a position where they cannot even take a House victory for granted if the current situation persists—lacking the "ammunition" to pour into nationwide campaign planning, operations, and TV and internet advertising.

The financial crunch of the national Democratic leadership contrasts with individual Democratic candidates gaining popularity in key battlegrounds, who are outraising their Republican rivals.

A prime example is the Texas Senate race, where Democratic candidate James Talarico ($55.4 million) significantly leads Republican candidate Ken Paxton ($3.9 million).

In Georgia as well, Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff ($34 million) raised more than ten times the amount raised by Republican candidate Mike Collins ($3.2 million).

In other Senate battlegrounds such as Ohio, North Carolina, Alaska, Michigan, and New Hampshire, Democratic candidates' fundraising amounts also exceed those of Republican candidates.

Ultimately, this highlights a prominent trend where donors prefer direct support for individual candidates over indirect support through the national Democratic leadership, which the WSJ pointed out reflects distrust in the Democratic leadership and national party organization.

The WSJ cited the case of Hoffman, who did not donate to the DNC but contributed to a super PAC supporting candidate Talarico.

Other cited causes include donors' dissatisfaction with how campaign funds were used for candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, backlash from Jewish megadonors against antisemitism within the Democratic camp, and an aversion to the party's democratic socialist faction.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)