WASHINGTON – The Democratic Party organization charged with reclaiming the House majority said Monday that it raised more than $100 million in 2017, a record total for a non-election year.

With $9.5 million in December receipts, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee brought its total for the year to $105.4 million. In 2015, the last comparable year, the DCCC raised $68.2 million.

The robust fundraising numbers come amid growing confidence from top Democrats that the party could win the House majority in November. Democrats need to flip two dozen seats to take back the chamber after losing its majority in a 2010 landslide.

The DCCC’s fundraising outstripped its Republican counterpart each month from May through December, ending the year ahead by about $20 million. The National Republican Congressional Committee raised $85 million for the year, according to figures shared with the Washington Examiner earlier this month.

However, the NRCC maintains a significant advantage in cash on hand, with $43.6 million in its coffers at year’s end vs. $38.9 million for the DCCC.

There are other indications that Republican candidates will not lack for resources: The party’s largest super PAC devoted to House races, the Congressional Leadership Fund, said this month that it raised $26 million in 2017 and had $15 million cash on hand. The leading Democratic House super PAC, House Majority PAC, has not yet reported its year-end fundraising totals but had raised $3.2 million as of July.

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But Democrats see further evidence of outsize enthusiasm on their side, citing strong online fundraising and a surge in low-dollar donations. About a third of the DCCC’s December receipts came from online donations averaging $18.

For the year, the committee raised $42.6 million online – about 40 percent of its total – including contributions from about 250,000 first-time donors. It received more than 2.8 million individual donations less than $200, according to figures shared with The Washington Post.

“I’m proud that grass-roots donations continue to fuel our record-breaking fundraising,” said Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, the DCCC’s chairman. “Despite full Republican control of Washington, we have far outraised our competition, which has already allowed us to invest in campaigns across the largest battlefield in a decade.”

Still, the electoral environment remains uncertain – especially with Republicans working overtime to blame the government shutdown on Democrats.

Asked Sunday to respond to the increase in Democratic fundraising, an NRCC spokesman referred to an event the House minority leader hosted Saturday night for her colleagues less than 24 hours after the shutdown began because of a Senate filibuster.

“Did they pick up the tab for Nancy Pelosi’s fancy celebratory dinner with the House Democratic Caucus after they voted against paying our troops and providing health care to nine million children?” press secretary Jesse Hunt said.


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