When members of the Democratic National Committee convene in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday, they’ll face a host of troubles, both domestic and foreign, hanging over their summer meeting.
Shut out of power at the White House and Congress, Democrats face a sizable fundraising gap between the DNC and the Republican National Committee. They’re also facing another sizable voter registration gap against Republicans among states with publicly available data.
The party is still dealing with tensions among the progressive wing over Israel’s war with Hamas. Some leaders have been hesitant to embrace Zohran Mamdani, who has been critical of Israel’s treatment of the Gaza Strip, in his bid to become New York City’s next mayor. At its summer gathering, the DNC will consider two resolutions on the worsening crises in Gaza.
Democrats will also have to consider how to respond to the GOP’s redistricting efforts to sway the 2026 midterm elections in their favor, who the party’s de facto leader will be, and how to convince disaffected Americans to return to their party.
“This is not the first time that each of us has gone to a DNC meeting where we have a number of issues that need to be tackled,” said John Verdejo, a North Carolina DNC member. “And once you gather that meeting, we felt refreshed, we felt fine, we felt rejuvenated. And this is not unlike those other meetings.”
DEMOCRATS TO CONSIDER GAZA RESOLUTIONS AT DNC SUMMER MEETING
But the three-day summer meeting from Aug. 25 to 27 will at least have one issue Democrats won’t have to worry about: David Hogg. The former DNC vice chairman stepped down earlier this year as it became clear he would not prevail during a new election to elect two vice chairs.
Here are some of the top issues that will influence the summer meeting:
The DNC’s fundraising woes
With President Donald Trump in power and the GOP controlling both the House and the Senate, the RNC has raked in millions of dollars over the DNC.
Federal Election Commission reports show that the RNC had $80 million cash on hand at the end of June, compared to the DNC’s $15 million.
The $65 million deficit between the two committees is larger than in May, when the RNC had $72.4 million on hand compared to the DNC’s $15 million, a $57.4 million gap.
The lag in fundraising has worried some Democrats about whether the party will be able to compete in next year’s midterm elections, where they are hoping to retake the House and possibly the Senate, although that may be a tougher task.
“Of course, I’m hoping that the party will right the ship, get structure down, be more disciplined,” said Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns.
Ceraso also noted that state party infrastructure is important in making up the fundraising gap outside of the DNC. “Now, arguably, state parties will say, ‘We need more resources, we need more resources from the DNC. We need to have relationships with donors,’” he said. “And that’s completely valid.”
In April, Martin unveiled a plan to invest $1 million monthly in all 50 state parties, with $17,500 going to officials in blue states and $22,500 going to officials in red states. “We are sending a strong message that our party is building from the ground up and we’re building everywhere,” Martin said at the time.
Democrats have a voter registration problem
A recent report from the New York Times details a Democratic Party that has lost voter registration ground to the GOP in 30 states.
Between the 2020 and 2024 elections, Republicans gained a 4.5 million lead over Democrats in the 30 states that track registration data.
In Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, important battleground states that will sway the 2026 and 2028 elections, Democrats also saw their lead slip.
The DNC announced this week that it was rolling out new tools, technology, and pilot programs to better organize voters and volunteers for the first time in nearly 20 years. The DNC will begin using the new technology in Virginia and New Jersey, the two states holding gubernatorial elections this year.
Martin told NBC News that the goal was to be “organizing everywhere to win anywhere.”
“We also need to go double down on our message, make it more attractive for folks to join the Democratic Party, to register as a Democrat, versus coming in and registering as independent or Republican,” added Verdejo.
Party leaders struggle with progressive candidates
After defeating former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the democratic primary, Mamdani, a socialist, has struggled to win over Democratic leadership.
Neither Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer nor House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has endorsed Mamdani, despite both lawmakers representing New York. Other prominent Democratic New Yorkers, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Gov. Kathy Hochul, have yet to endorse Mamdani.
However, former President Barack Obama and Mamdani did speak by phone in June after he won the primary. Mamdani has raised more than $1 million, much of it from small donors, an indication of strong support among New Yorkers and Democrats.
Democrats are also dealing with another battle over the party’s direction after the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which Martin used to chair, rescinded its endorsement of Omar Fateh for Minneapolis mayor due to a voting system error.
DEMOCRATS HOPE ‘ORGANIZING SUMMER’ CAN GALVANIZE SUPPORTERS
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), one of the more progressive voices in the party, was among a list of DFL lawmakers who criticized the decision to strip Fateh, another socialist, of his endorsement.
“It is inexcusable to overturn the results weeks after the convention because board members did not like the outcome,” DFL members who disagreed with the decision said in a statement. “Not only does this decision set an extremely dangerous precedent, it will undermine the DFL endorsing process going forward and fails to center the will of delegates.”
Gaza remains a tension point for Democrats
During the summer meeting, DNC members will vote on two separate Gaza resolutions, one put forth by Martin and the other championed by more progressive members.
The resolution from Martin calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the release of humanitarian aid, the return of hostages, and a two-state solution between Israel and Gaza.
The other resolution calls for an end to military aid to Israel and pushes for Palestinian statehood, neither of which will get traction with a GOP-controlled Washington.
As images of starving children in Gaza spread and accusations of famine have tilted the tide against Israel, more Democrats have been willing to break their allegiance to the Middle Eastern nation. Democrats don’t expect the issue to be solved at their summer meeting.
“This is an issue that has been ongoing since Jesus walked the Earth,” said Verdejo. “Even the best folks who are diplomats who work at the [United Nations] have yet to figure this out.”
But tensions over how Democrats approach the conflict have not abated since protesters heckled both former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 campaign. At the DNC winter meeting earlier this year in National Harbor, Maryland, protesters repeatedly interrupted meetings and debates among the chair candidates.
“Gaza hasn’t really changed a whole lot since February. And so I think the same passionate, caring human beings who were outside where we were at in Maryland are going to be in that room,” said Ceraso.
“It’s a very tricky situation. And I think we’re the party that’s willing to deal with nuance, and Republicans are not so,” he continued. “And that’s the challenge of dealing with nuance, is that nuance requires a lot of navigation. The Republicans don’t have to do any nuance right now.”
Redistricting woes could scramble 2026 map
Democrats will face a tough congressional map during the 2026 midterm elections if several GOP states successfully implement mid-decade redrawings.
Texas began the redistricting race by creating five extra GOP House seats via a new congressional map that is all but certain to get signed into law despite Democratic stalling efforts. But Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) countered by signing two redistricting bills Thursday to redraw a new congressional map in California.
California voters head to the polls for a special election on Nov. 4 to grant final approval to the new map, which would net Democrats five more House seats.
Yet Democrats still have more problems if other Republican-led states, such as Indiana, Missouri, and Florida, create more GOP-friendly districts.
NEWSOM SIGNS REDISTRICTING BILLS, TAKES FIGHT OVER CONGRESSIONAL MAP TO VOTERS
“This is all hands on deck right now,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) during a DNC press call this week.
“They’re not going to stop with Texas, we know that,” added Newsom. “What we’re doing … neutralizes what’s happening in Texas. People have this chance with this ballot, Nov. 4, to stand up to the rule of law.”