DNC takes out record $15 million loan using headquarters as collateral

As the Democratic National Committee (DNC) shouldered significant debt and fell behind its GOP equivalent, Democratic leadership decided to use its headquarters as collateral for a $15 million loan, according to public records.

The loan, first reported by NOTUS news outlet, was taken out in 2025 as the DNC struggled to keep pace with the Republican National Committee’s fundraising efforts ahead of the midterm elections.

While taking out loans ahead of high-stakes races is common, and using property as collateral to do so is not unheard of, the line of credit secured by the DNC was the largest ever taken out by the committee for an off-year election, according to NOTUS. The terms of the loan allow the DNC to withdraw an additional $5 million beyond the $15 million it already has taken, public records show.

“This is not new,” a DNC official told Digital Monday of the loan. “The loan documents were publicly released in November, and the DNC’s building was also used as collateral in our prior lines of credit in 2019, 2018, 2014 and many other years.”

CASH-STRAPPED DNC SHELLED OUT MORE THAN $800K TO NON-VOTING TERRITORIES LIKE VIRGIN ISLANDS WHILE IN DEBT

What is new, however, is the DNC’s considerable debt.

The financial gap between Democrats and Republicans, as well as the former’s higher-than-usual debt load, could leave the DNC with less flexibility to support candidates in the midterm elections. The national party’s debt and smaller cash reserves could limit its ability to respond quickly, invest broadly and compete with the GOP’s far larger war chest, a boon to conservatives who are currently struggling in the polls.

As of June 30, the DNC has $18.5 million in debt against just $16.3 million in cash on hand, according to campaign finance records. For comparison, the DNC ended 2022, the previous midterm cycle, with $30.5 million in cash against roughly $420,000 in debt.

The Republican National Committee, by comparison, had $128.5 million in cash with no debt as of June 30, per Federal Election Commission records.

That the DNC is using its headquarters as collateral for a loan isn’t necessarily a sign that the organization is in its death throes. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, another major organization run by the party, used all of its assets as collateral for a $20 million line of credit in 2024, per a federal filing.

“Ken gaslighting us about the DNC’s finances and not being transparent about the financial situation makes us doubt if he can oversee the DNC during the most important primary of our lifetime,” an anonymous DNC member told NOTUS.

The DNC’s heavy debt load has been accompanied by some cuts to spending.

For one, the DNC will not be making its traditional transfers to House and Senate campaign committees.

Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin, standing alongside Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker at an event in Chicago on Aug. 5, 2025, pledges Democrats “won’t back down” as they push back against mid-decade redistricting efforts by President Donald Trump and Republicans (DNC)

DNC CHAIR KEN MARTIN THREW PHONE AT AIDE’S DESK, FACED HR COMPLAINT IN SIGN OF ‘FRAYING NERVES’: REPORT

Over 2025 and into 2026, the RNC has consistently outraised the DNC and has maintained a much larger war chest. Other national Republican committees, such as the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have also raised more than their Democratic counterparts.

The financial outlook for Democrats isn’t all bleak. Individual Democratic candidates running in key elections, such as the Senate races in Georgia and Ohio, have raised significantly more money than Republican counterparts.

Amid its financial troubles, the DNC has made moves to tighten the lips of its leadership. Axios, citing two sources familiar, recently reported that the organization asked its leadership team to sign nondisclosure agreements ahead of a meeting about the party’s finances.

SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN LIMIT ON PARTY CAMPAIGN SPENDING IN COORDINATION WITH CANDIDATES

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin spoke to DNC members after the meeting was adjourned. ( Digital/Paul Steinhauser)

Decisions like that, however, have not stopped the leaks from coming out of the DNC.

One source told NOTUS that Democratic Party chair Ken Martin has had trouble convincing donors to make maximum donations, hamstringing efforts to raise large amounts of money. Other sources recently told The New York Times that Martin had a fit of rage in which he threw his phone at an aide’s desk.

“It pisses me off when I see leaks out of this building,” Martin reportedly told staffers in May, according to the Times. “No more of that s–t. No more.”

Despite the criticism, Martin remains publicly optimistic about the DNC’s finances.

“The current DNC has raised the most money of any DNC without the White House in the 198-year history of the Democratic Party,” he wrote in a July 20 Substack article. “Through June 2026, this DNC reported total receipts of more than $207 million. During the comparable 18-month period of the last Trump-era cycle, when Democrats were also out of the White House and rebuilding toward a midterm election, the DNC reported $109 million.”

Internally, however, some staff do no share Martin’s assessment.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE APP

“They just have no money, and no clear path to either pay off their debt incurred by Ken,” one source familiar with DNC fundraising told the Washington Post in April.

The New York Times recently reported that the DNC asked vendors it worked with no to send it bills until after Election Day, which the committee defended as standard practice. DNC leadership has also faced scrutiny for spending nearly $1 million in party work in U.S. territories, constituencies that will ultimately have no bearing on the outcome of the midterm elections, despite being strapped for cash.