The Democratic Party is struggling to win back donors following a disastrous election season that saw Republicans win control over both chambers of Congress and the White House, The Hill reported.
Multiple Democrat donors and strategists told The Hill that both large- and small-dollar donors, who are upset about the party's performance in the 2024 general election, have lost confidence in the party.
"I'll be blunt here: The Democratic Party is [expletive] terrible. Plain and simple," one major Democratic donor told the news outlet. "In fact, it doesn't get much worse."
Another donor said, "They want us to spend money, and for what? For no message, no organization, no forward thinking. … 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?"
Some strategists told The New York Times that fear of reprisal from the Trump administration has also caused donors to cut back on contributions.
"We don't know if he's going to go after people," Silicon Valley-based strategist Cooper Teboe told the newspaper, paraphrasing what he's heard from donors. "We do not want to be on the top of that list. We're going to hold off and see if he really is or if it's all bluster."
Many donors noted that they were misled about the 2024 election season by the Democratic Party and former President Joe Biden's campaign who assured donors that Biden was the only candidate who could beat President Donald Trump until his poor debate performance caused widespread doubts about his fitness.
"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," said Democratic strategist Steve Schale, who directed a pro-Biden super PAC.
He added, "There is genuine frustration" among donors who are "asking harder questions, which I think is a good thing."
Schale said, "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."
An unnamed Democrat strategist added, "Folks are saying right now, 'What's the Democratic Party to me as an investment?' I'm hearing from [Democratic National Committee] 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?"
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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