DNC is infusing $2 million into state parties in push to win key down-ballot races and boost voter registration efforts
- The Democratic National Committee is furthering its commitment to state parties in the 2024 cycle.
- National Democrats have set aside funding for organizational efforts to aid down-ballot candidates.
The Democratic National Committee is spending nearly $2 million in additional targeted state investments to boost down-ballot candidates and fund critical voter registration efforts ahead of November.
The latest round of funding is part of the $20 million in investments the DNC has made in state parties this election cycle. This is a priority for President Joe Biden and party chair Jaime Harrison, even as the commander in chief faces a tough reelection fight against former President Donald Trump.
"Everywhere Democrats are on the ballot this November — from the school board to the White House — we're fighting to win," Harrison said in a statement.
Indiana and South Dakota are both controlled by Republicans at the statewide level, but the DNC sees them as prime targets for the party's latest investments.
In Indiana, the national party is making a five-figure investment to enhance the state party's organizing infrastructure — as local Democrats work to flip four legislative seats and crack the GOP supermajority in the state House of Representatives. As it stands, Democrats hold 30 of 100 seats in the lower chamber.
So far, the DNC has given $535,000 to Indiana Democrats this cycle.
In South Dakota, national Democrats are investing $70,000 in a critical voter registration program to boost turnout among Native Americans. The investment in the state now totals $477,000.
The DNC is also investing additional money for state parties in Colorado, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Washington State.
Some of the key down-ballot races the national party will target with the funding are the Maryland Senate contest between Democrat Angela Alsobrooks and former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan and the New Mexico 2nd Congressional District matchup between Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez and ex-GOP Rep. Yvette Herrell.
In Texas, the national party will spend an additional $45,000 on organizing efforts to boost voter registration before the fall. Republicans continue to retain their long-standing grip on Texas politics, and Democrats are looking to cultivate support among young and minority voters to counter the GOP edge in the state. Such an effort could prove especially critical in the fall as Democrats see an opportunity in Rep. Colin Allred's Senate candidacy against incumbent Ted Cruz.
The Trump campaign announced that it raised $141 million in May alongside the Republican National Committee, with tens of millions of dollars coming in after the former president's criminal conviction in his Manhattan hush-money trial. For much of this year, the RNC was largely strapped for cash, but it remained committed to important down-ballot Senate races in states like Montana and Ohio.
It's unclear at this stage how the RNC will respond to Democratic investments in non-presidential battlegrounds, but party leaders largely view Hogan's race as one of their best chances to run a competitive race in a deeply blue state.