Debt-ridden Democrats tap a surprising asset as collateral for $15M loan
The committee holds $18.5M in debt against $16.3M cash on hand while the RNC sits on $128.5M with no debt
By Robert Schmad Fox News
Published July 27, 2026 12:42pm EDT
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 Fox News 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."
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.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/debt-ridden-democrats-tap-surprising-asset-collateral-15m-loan
