House Democratic campaign arm raises $125 million in 2019

The Democratic group tasked with keeping the House majority announced that it raised more than $125 million in 2019, a record for the organization in a non-election year.

Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, noted that Democrats surpassed their 2017 total by about $20 million, helping fund a “cycle of engagement” that will allow them to protect dozens of battleground districts and go after Republicans across the country. The DCCC and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have also made an eight-figure investment in voter-rights litigation in battleground states.

“We got to hang on to this majority because we know what’s at stake in 2020,” Bustos said. “We’ve got the resources to get the job done.”

As the Senate prepares for the third impeachment trial of a president in US history, Bustos says that the top issue for voters is still health care, specifically the cost of prescription drugs, which Democrats ran on in 2018 to capture the House.

“What we’re seeing over and over again is that people are worried about the cost of their prescription drugs,” said DCCC executive director Lucinda Guinn. “They’re worried about their wages. They’re worried about their kids. They’re worried about infrastructure. The list of things that’s on people’s minds does not include impeachment right now.”

When the House voted to impeach Trump last month, Rep. Tom Emmer, the National Republican Congressional Committee chair, said that the “the socialist Democrats threw their majority out the window and showed the American public they care more about their hatred for this president than delivering on their campaign promises.”

Bustos said on Thursday that the Democrats are a “big tent” party but rejected Republicans’ messaging this cycle to brand Democrats as socialists.

“There are some people who probably pride themselves on that title,” Bustos said. “There are many where that title wouldn’t fit. I think it’s just a phony term that they want to throw out there that they’re trying to make stick to people who would never label themselves that way — and consider themselves strong capitalists.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee has not yet released its 2019 fundraising totals.

This story has been updated with additional developments Thursday.