You know the Democratic Party is a mess. Some fundraising operations are nearly broke and can't afford to fight both the GOP and the socialist insurgency at once. Yes, the party in power has the advantage in fundraising, but this gap is outrageous. It’s partly because Democrats have a poor reputation, and their big donor base is still shocked and disgusted by the 2024 crushing defeat to Donald Trump, which cost them $1 billion.
The generic congressional ballot remains strong for the GOP; anything under a D+5 margin gives Republicans a solid chance to keep control of Congress. In the latest sign that the Democratic National Committee is financially struggling, they’re now asking vendors to bill them after the 2026 midterms. Moreover, its chair, Ken Martin, has become a hermit, retreating into the bunker, becoming increasingly paranoid, and known for violent outbursts, some of which have landed him calls from the DNC’s human resources department—you can’t throw phones at staffers, Ken (via NYT):
https://t.co/gE2Qyo3J84 pic.twitter.com/poM6d8ky6L
— Ben Petersen (@bennpetersen) July 26, 2026
At the center is Ken Martin, the 53-year-old party chairman, who has found himself increasingly isolated, gripped by the fear that he will lose his job and relying on a vanishingly small circle of people he trusts, according to interviews with more than two dozen Democrats, including current and former D.N.C. officials and members. Most of them spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the party’s troubled state of affairs.
Mr. Martin’s fraying nerves are showing. In a pique of frustration in early July, he threw his phone at the desk of a junior aide while upbraiding the person. The phone-tossing incident resulted in a formal complaint to the D.N.C.’s human resources department.
The fallout from the phone-throwing episode was described by half a dozen people familiar with the incident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal party matters. None of them witnessed the encounter, and there was some dispute over how aggressively the phone was tossed. Mr. Martin was said to have thrown the phone at the desk, rather than at the aide.
Mr. Martin later met with D.N.C. human resources officials about his behavior, according to three of the people.
[…]
… the Democratic Party and its allies are far behind Republicans when it comes to money. Mr. Trump controls a $400 million super PAC, and the Republican National Committee is sitting on nearly $130 million. Mr. Martin’s D.N.C. is $2 million in debt.
The committee’s role is not just to help Democrats win back power in the midterms, but also to lead the party into the 2028 presidential race, including by overseeing a new primary calendar while organizing debates and a national convention.
Even supporters acknowledge Mr. Martin’s growing sense of paranoia. He confronted the party’s finance director this spring over what he thought was a budding coup. And before he met with the top congressional Democrats, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, in mid-July, assurances were given to an ally of Mr. Martin’s that the two party leaders did not plan to use the gathering to call for the chairman’s resignation.
[…]
In public, Mr. Martin has all but disappeared as a face of the party on television ever since a fumbling April appearance on the liberal podcast Pod Save America, when he faced questions about why he had not released the autopsy. His lone television interview in recent months was on local news in Erie, Pa.
Now, Mr. Martin is both paralyzed by the idea of leaks and surrounded by them. During a May meeting with the full staff of the D.N.C. days after the draft autopsy’s release, he admitted that times were tough and chided the team for revealing to reporters what was happening inside party headquarters.
“It pisses me off when I see leaks out of this building,” Mr. Martin said, according to four people who heard the remarks, adding, “No more.”
Martin aims to boost investments in state parties and empower these organizations. Democratic state parties nationwide were decimated during Obama’s presidency. Democrats have spent years trying to rebuild them. The issue is that Martin has included territories like Guam and the Virgin Islands, which have received about $840,000 for contests that have no impact on who will control Congress.
The reluctance to release the 2024 autopsy was another odd decision, though you could see why, as the document was half-finished. It also didn’t address Joe Biden’s health and age, which were on voters' minds. It’s why you booted him off the ticket, guys.
Ken Martin hates leaks—well, he might throw his phone again after reading this NYT piece.
