Angry Democratic donors turn off the flow of money

Democrats are anxious to rebuild their party on the heels of President Trump’s victory in November. But they have a major problem as they try to refashion their brand: The money isn’t there.

Democratic donors — from bundlers to small dollar donors — say they are still angry about the election results and uninspired by anything their side has put forward since then.

“I’ll be blunt here: The Democratic Party is f‑‑‑ing terrible. Plain and simple,” said one major Democratic donor. “In fact, it doesn’t get much worse.”

A second donor was equally as pointed. “They want us to spend money and for what? For no message, no organization, no forward thinking,” the donor said. “The thing that’s clear to a lot of us is that the party never really learned its lesson in 2016. They worked off the same playbook and the same ineffective strategies and to what end?”

Much of the consternation among the donor community stems from the unprecedented 2024 election cycle, where many felt misled by the party and former President Biden’s reelection campaign. Until the Democratic debate in June, donors and fundraisers were led to believe that Biden could once again defeat Trump, even as many had serious reservations about it.

When Biden badly botched the debate, inflaming fears about his age, donors felt like the campaign continued to hoodwink them, despite outwardly expressing their concerns to aides.

And even when former Vice President Kamala Harris took the reins as the Democratic nominee, donors say, they poured gobs of money into what was ultimately a campaign that ran an outdated strategy.

Then Harris lost. And morale among Democrats has been in the gutter ever since.

“This is worse than 2016,” the first Democratic donor said. “Our party is so weak and so diminished.”

Democratic strategist Steve Schale, who served as the director of the pro-Biden super PAC ‘Unite the Country,’ attributed some of the donor reluctance to fatigue, which he said happens after every election.

But, Schale acknowledged, “There is genuine frustration.”

“I’ve talked to a number of donors who just don’t have a lot of confidence after 2024 and want to see how people are thinking about issues differently,” he said.

While he said donors are taking calls, they are “asking harder questions which I think is a good thing.”

“Frankly a lot of donors I’ve talked to don’t think their voice mattered in 2024, so I’ve been doing more listening than talking,” Schale added.

Douglas Wilson, a North Carolina-based political consultant who has worked on fundraising for Democratic races, said donors have been “semi on the fence” over whether to contribute again so freely. Because Democrats are out of power, there’s little that they can do but fight from a disadvantaged position. And some donors, Wilson said, don’t feel like Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill are “fighting back hard enough” for larger-scale reforms

“This is having a trickle down effect,” Wilson said. “Grassroots donors want to see more fight and less text message requests asking for contributions.”

Another veteran campaign strategist who works closely with the Democratic National Committee said there’s a general uncertainty about the direction the party is going to go in order to start winning.

High-level donors are less likely, the strategist said, to give when they’re not sure what the plan is. Some have said that they don’t believe Democrats can win against Trump-style candidates, so they’re sitting things out for now

“Folks are saying right now ‘what's the Democratic Party to me as an investment?’ I’m hearing from [DNC] members, they don’t really believe where we’re at right now. They don’t believe that we can counter Trump, so why lose dollars?” said the strategist.

Others have suggested that Democrats need to rely less on big donors and more on small donations in order to have credibility with the constituents they’re trying to win over. The working class coalition many say they need to court has shown a distaste for corporate spending, and even some moderates have suggested that the small dollar model popularized by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) could be the best path forward next cycle.

“If corporations and big donors are now rejecting the party, where else can they go for money if they're not doing it the Bernie Sanders way?,” the strategist said.

Schale predicted the future of fundraising will look different from how it has in the past few cycles.

He said it’s “not so much that there is a moment when the spigot turns on for the DNC or a chosen super PAC.

“I believe we will see more groups raising smaller numbers, as donors look to invest in different things,” Schale said. “I think this is healthy, as we learned in 2020 when a ton of groups were at the table.”

Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons said donors will also gravitate back to the fold organically, when they see Trump increasingly hostile to progressive values. But for now, Simmons said, the donors are still grappling with the aftermath of an emotional and tumultuous campaign.

“For a lot of Democrats, it’s like we had a heartbreak and one way to deal with heartbreak is to curl up on your couch and eat ice cream,” he said. “But one way that will help them get over the heartbreak is how infuriating the new guy is.

And as the 2026 cycle inches closer, Simmons said he expects donors to rally again.

“Democrats like to be inspired so having more inspirational candidates will make that easier,” he said.

Topics

8-year-old boy dies as boat carrying 'reverse flow' of migrants capsizes off Panama coast

A boat carrying 19 migrants, part of a “reverse flow” of migrants who once hoped to reach the United States, capsized off Caribbean coast of Panama
ABC News - 1d
GOP lawmakers confronted by constituents angry about Trump-Musk cuts

Republican lawmakers have faced backlash at town halls and other events in their districts in recent days.
CBS News - 2d
Angry voters confront Republican congressman over DOGE cuts at town hall

Republican Rep. Rich McCormick of Georgia faced boos and jeers at a town hall Thursday night. His constituents, including Democrats, were angry over the Department of Government Efficiency slashing ...
CBS News - 2d
Republicans Face Angry Voters at Town Halls, Hinting at Broader Backlash

After a monthlong honeymoon for the G.O.P. at the start of President Trump’s term, lawmakers are confronting a groundswell of fear and disaffection in districts around the country.
The New York Times - 15h
A Book Club for Bewildered Democrats

Democrats will have no shot at containing Trump if they don’t first understand why voters turn to him.
The New York Times - 2d
Sources: Collier shares 1-on-1 money with staff

Unrivaled co-founder and player Napheesa Collier is giving half of her prize money for winning the league's first 1-on-1 tournament to her training and performance staff and assistant coaches ...
ESPN - 2d
£67bn of UK investors’ money is in underperforming funds

Wealth floundering in so-called ‘dog’ funds rises 26 per cent in six months, as investor Nick Train’s UK Equity product named among them
Financial Times - 2d
Pope Francis is in critical condition after a long respiratory crisis, requiring oxygen at high flow

The Vatican says Pope Francis is in critical condition after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen
ABC News - 1d
Democrats won’t fight Trump’s tariff policies. On trade, Trump is a Democrat.

President Donald Trump's recent trade policy has been met with surprising support from congressional Democrats, despite his protectionist policies being more aligned with progressive Democrats than ...
The Hill - 18h
America has turned on its friends

Donald Trump’s abandonment of allies is real and will endure
Financial Times - 2d
'Indiscriminate’ Pentagon cuts unnerve Democrats

{beacon} Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story 'Indiscriminate’ Pentagon cuts unnerve Democrats Democrats ...
The Hill - 3d
'I'm very, very angry' - Arteta after Arsenal hopes suffer 'big blow'

The Premier League title race may not be done yet - but Mikel Arteta was "very, very angry" after Arsenal's loss to West Ham.
BBC News - 1d
Murphy says he believes ‘the entire American political system is corrupted by money’

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) discussed the influence of money on the political system in the U.S., implicating his own party in the corruption he said it causes. “I think the entire American ...
The Hill - 3d
These tips for investing in mutual funds and ETFs will up your money game

Don’t miss these top money and investing features.
MarketWatch - 3d
Trump, DOGE mass job cuts: Federal workers’ money questions answered

The Trump administration is terminating federal workers across agencies. Here’s what to know about your rights and finances if you were impacted by the cuts.
CNBC - 2d
ESPN Broke Up With MLB Because the Money Just Didn’t Add Up

The calculus behind ESPN’s decision to walk away from its longstanding partnership with Major League Baseball may have been a bit knottier than a simple cost-benefit analysis would otherwise ...
Yahoo Sports - 2d
Videogame giants are spending more money but losing players — and profits

Sony, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft reflect an industrywide misunderstanding (or perhaps disregard) of what gamers value.
MarketWatch - 1d
To stop corruption and rescue democracy, we must take money out of politics

Donald Trump is attempting to replace our democratic Republic with a plutocratic dictatorship that looks a lot like Vladimir Putin's. How has this happened? One answer is the corrupting influence ...
The Hill - 1h
The Cryptocurrency Scam That Turned a Small Town Against Itself

How did a successful, financially sophisticated banker gamble his community’s money away?
The New York Times - 5d
Consumers turn to renting chickens as egg prices soar

As the bird flu outbreak impacts egg shortages and prices, some people are turning to renting or buying backyard chickens.
CBS News - 2d
Is the downfall of a Japanese star a turning point for women's rights?

The downfall of Masahiro Nakai is a marked departure from how Japan treats claims of sexual violence.
BBC News - 13h
Stars turn on the style at SAG Awards red carpet

Millie Bobby Brown, Mikey Madison and Timothée Chalamet were among the stars posing for pictures.
BBC News - 12h
The Papers: 'Zelensky offers to quit' and 'Germany turns Right'

Volodymyr Zelensky's offer to step down as president of Ukraine features heavily in Monday's papers.
BBC News - 8h
Venus Williams turns down Indian Wells wildcard

Former world number one Venus Williams turns down a wildcard offer for next month's Indian Wells tournament.
BBC News - 7h
Democratic governors push back against Trump

With Democrats in the minority in Washington, D.C., it could be up to governors to mount the party's opposition to President Trump's agenda. Ofirah Yheskel, director of external affairs for the ...
CBS News - 3d
Whole Hog Politics: Democrats learn the limits of resistance

On the menu: COVID-19 at root of Gen Z move to the right; Vivek readies battle for Ohio; Kemp brushes back Greene; A very big fish story It may be fitting that President Trump has been in a ...
The Hill - 3d
To stop Trump, Democrats must reinvent themselves

Democrats can’t beat Trump and the populist right with the discredited progressive playbook they’ve been following since 2016.
The Hill - 3d
Democrats struggle to reverse Trump's gains with Latinos

Democrats are struggling to reverse the rightward shift among Latino voters seen in November, when President Trump made significant gains with the once reliably blue voting bloc. While a majority ...
The Hill - 16h
Democrats demand Trump nominee commit to Fed independence

US president’s pick to head Council of Economic Advisers has argued the central bank is at odds with US constitution
Financial Times - 4h
Will your tax preparer save you money or make costly mistakes? Look for these red flags.

How to make sure you get what you pay for.
MarketWatch - 1d
Dope Girls review – the dodgy accents could give Peaky Blinders a run for its money

This fun, gory tale of women trying to set up a nightclub in the 1918 Soho underworld is lively – even if it tries to cram too much in. Shame about the ropey vocal affectations …. The Peaky ...
The Guardian - 1d
Parents with these 2 toxic habits raise kids who are bad with money, says investment firm CEO

Spending money you don't have, and using cards too much, can give your kids financial anxiety as they grow up, says Ariel Investments co-CEO Mellody Hobson.
CNBC - 1d
This social-media star helps women get richer. Here are her top money tips.

Tori Dunlap, founder of Her First $100K, says, “A financial education is the best form of protest.”
MarketWatch - 1h
Watch LeBron James turn back the clock with monster dunk

It came in what was an ugly loss by the Lakers, who led by 13 in the third quarter but lost to the Hornets.
Yahoo Sports - 4d
Netanyahu says Gazan woman, not Shiri Bibas, was turned over by Hamas

Yahoo News - 3d
Bill Berloni turns rescue dogs into stars of stage and screen

For nearly 50 years, Bill Berloni has trained dogs for television, movies and theater—transforming shelter pets into showbiz sensations. Nancy Chen looks at his approach and the lessons he's ...
CBS News - 2d
How Tony winner Bill Berloni turns rescue dogs into stars of stage

His current roster of performers includes Bowdie, who starred as Nana in "Peter Pan Live," and Myrtle, who plays Charlotte York's dog in "And Just Like That ..."
CBS News - 2d
Hamas turns over correct body of hostage Shiri Bibas

Hostage Shiri Bibas's body has been returned to Israel after Hamas turned over the wrong body on Thursday.
ABC News - 2d
‘Traditional flavours and modern ideas’ turn Swedish buns into a TikTok delight

The ‘fantasticallly delicious’ semla has gone from a simple Nordic springtime favourite to a Noma-approved delicacy. The earliest version of the Swedish semla was a 16th-century plain bread bun ...
The Guardian - 2d

More from The Hill

11 dead after supplemental shakes linked to listeria cases in 21 states

Frozen shakes sold to nursing homes and other institutions are being recalled after a listeria outbreak in 21 states that has caused 11 deaths, according to the Federal Food and Drug Administration.
The Hill - 32m
Democrats need to make a compelling case to win back America

Voters have little idea what Democrats stand for, only who they stand against.
The Hill - 34m
Zelensky praises ‘absolute heroism of Ukrainians’ three years after Russian invasion

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is praising the “absolute heroism” of his people on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion. “Three years of resistance. Three years of gratitude. Three ...
The Hill - 39m
To stop corruption and rescue democracy, we must take money out of politics

Donald Trump is attempting to replace our democratic Republic with a plutocratic dictatorship that looks a lot like Vladimir Putin's. How has this happened? One answer is the corrupting influence ...
The Hill - 1h
Musk: Federal workers who haven’t returned to office will be placed on leave this week

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk said early Monday that federal workers who haven’t returned to the office will be placed on administrative leave this week. Last month, ...
The Hill - 1h