2026年2月11日 / 美国东部时间凌晨5:00 / CBS新闻
美国民主党全国委员会（DNC）一位官员向CBS新闻透露，上月通过小额捐款为主的筹款活动筹集了逾740万美元，为该党在今年秋季中期选举前创下了有记录以来最强劲的年初基层动员开局，旨在夺回失去的政治优势。
据该官员表示，筹款成果部分得益于民主党亚利桑那州参议员马克·凯利（Mark Kelly，潜在2028年总统候选人）的呼吁，以及新的选民登记运动引发的关注。此次筹款紧随去年11月的中期选举之后，当时尽管民主党全国委员会面临严峻的财务状况，选民仍在弗吉尼亚州和新泽西州州长竞选中给予民主党重大胜利。
民主党全国委员会执行主任罗杰·劳（Roger Lau）在声明中表示：”我们的势头正在全国范围内增强，从民主党横扫地方选举、拿下长期由共和党占据的席位，到创纪录的小额捐款和志愿者报名，我们正汇聚这种力量支持各地民主党候选人，在11月选举中大胜，并遏制特朗普鲁莽政府的行为。”
选举动态和近期选举胜利已让一些民主党人开始关注今年秋季中期选举出现”蓝色浪潮”的可能性，该党正试图摆脱上届总统选举周期的失利——当时民主党失去了总统和国会参议院控制权，众议院控制权也未能夺回。
然而，走向这一目标的同时，民主党也面临着与共和党对手相比的严峻财务差距，这可能对选票结果产生重大影响。
共和党全国委员会（RNC）去年筹集了超过1.72亿美元，截至2026年初拥有9500万美元现金储备。同期，民主党全国委员会筹集了近1.46亿美元，2025年底剩余1400万美元，却背负1750万美元债务。
两党均需在2月20日前向联邦选举委员会（FEC）提交2026年1月的财务报告。740万美元的基层捐款预计将成为民主党全国委员会本月总筹款的一部分，但并非全部。其基层筹款数据包括通过电子邮件、短信和在线广告等渠道筹集的捐款。
共和党人正利用2025年的财务优势作为证明点，暗示特朗普总统及其共和党可能在11月的选举中逆势而上——当时所有众议院席位都将面临改选，共和党控制的参议院控制权也岌岌可危。
共和党全国委员会发言人基尔斯滕·佩尔斯（Kiersten Pels）在短信中表示：”特朗普总统的政绩正在激发创纪录的基层支持，让共和党候选人有机会在中期选举中打破历史规律。”
“民主党及其左翼盟友正准备在中期选举中投入大量外部资金，这正是共和党全国委员会建立这笔战争基金的原因——与他们的支出正面抗衡，开展针对性选民动员，并支持特朗普总统和全国候选人。”
民主党全国委员会的债务与2025年11月选举前开设的大额信用额度有关，部分用于加强党内基础设施。去年接受CBS新闻采访时，马丁（Martin）将该信用额度描述为”重大赌注”，称其让民主党能够在非大选年竞选中大量投资，并认为民主党”大获全胜”。
共和党目前在众议院仅占微弱多数，民主党有很大机会在特朗普总统任期最后两年重新夺回众议院控制权。但从共和党手中夺回参议院控制权则面临更严峻挑战。
民主党要在今年秋季夺回参议院，可能需要保住所有当前面临改选的席位，并从北卡罗来纳州、缅因州、俄亥俄州、阿拉斯加州、德克萨斯州和爱荷华州的竞选中夺取四个席位。
这一切都为预计耗资巨大、竞争激烈的中期选举奠定了基础，美国政治中的”金钱游戏”变得更加关键。最近几周，民主党全国委员会多次借助亚利桑那州关键参议员凯利的影响力筹集资金。
今年冬天，凯利与特朗普政府国防部长彼得·赫格塞斯（Pete Hegseth）陷入紧张对峙，这一事件被民主党全国委员会用作小额捐款呼吁的素材。
赫格塞斯在凯利参与一段与其他议员联合录制的视频后，下令对其展开调查——视频中凯利提醒军人不必服从非法命令。1月在社交媒体上，赫格塞斯声称凯利和其他民主党人”发布了煽动性视频，明显意图破坏良好秩序和军事纪律”，并表示五角大楼正启动程序，以”煽动性言论和一贯鲁莽不当行为”为由降低凯利的军衔和退休金。
随后，凯利以违反第一修正案为由起诉五角大楼对其进行报复。凯利和司法部上周在法庭上陈述案情，法官表示将在未来几周内做出裁决。
据CBS新闻报道，周二联邦大陪审团驳回了司法部对凯利及其他五名议员就该视频提起刑事指控的请求。
公职人员为全国性政党背书是极为常见的做法，但凯利所处的局面却对华盛顿产生重大影响——不仅让他进一步成为全国焦点，也为民主党全国委员会上月的筹款邮件提供了话题素材。
凯利在1月的民主党全国委员会筹款邮件中表示：”彼得·赫格塞斯可以威胁降低我的军衔和养老金，但我不会让他或任何人恐吓我，他也阻止不了我捍卫民主，对抗一心要摧毁它的总统。”
埃莉诺·沃森（Eleanor Watson）、芬·丹尼尔·戈麦斯（Fin Daniel Gómez）和安妮·布赖森（Anne Bryson）对此报道有贡献。
DNC tallied over $7 million in grassroots fundraising last month
February 11, 2026 / 5:00 AM EST / CBS News
The Democratic National Committee raised over $7.4 million through small dollar-focused fundraising last month, an official told CBS News, giving the party one of its strongest grassroots starts to the year on record ahead of this fall’s midterms as it tries to claw back lost political ground.
The party reached that mark partially due to appeals from Democratic Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, and interest tied to a new voter registration push, according to the official. The fundraising follows last November’s off-year elections, where voters gave Democrats major wins in the Virginia and New Jersey governor races even as the DNC faced a challenging financial picture.
“Our momentum is building across the country, from Democrats sweeping local elections and flipping long-held Republican seats, to record-setting small dollar fundraising and volunteer sign-ups,” DNC Executive Director Roger Lau said in a statement. “We are harnessing this energy to support Democratic candidates across the map, win big in November’s elections, and put a check on Trump’s reckless administration.”
Election dynamics and recent election wins already have some Democrats eying the potential of a blue wave in this fall’s midterms as the party tries to push past the last presidential election cycle, when it lost control of the presidency and the Senate while falling short of retaking the House.
Momentum in that direction, however, has come at the same time that the party faces a fraught financial gap compared to its GOP counterpart that could end up carrying major implications down the ballot.
The Republican National Committee brought in more than $172 million last year, and headed into 2026 with $95 million in the bank. Over that same span, the DNC raised close to $146 million and closed 2025 with $14 million left over and $17.5 million in debts.
Both parties have until Feb. 20 to report their January 2026 finances to the Federal Election Commission. The $7.4 million in grassroots dollars is expected to be part, but not all, of the DNC’s total fundraising haul for the month. The DNC’s grassroots fundraising figures include donations that were raised through channels like email, texts and online ads.
Republicans are already using their 2025 financial advantage as a potential proof point that President Trump and his GOP could defy normal political gravity come November, when every House seat is on the ballot and control of the Republican-held Senate is also on the line.
“President Trump’s record is driving historic grassroots support and giving Republican candidates the opportunity to defy history in the midterms,” RNC spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said in a text message.
“Democrats and their left-wing allies are preparing to flood the midterms with outside money, which is exactly why the RNC has built this war chest — to go toe-to-toe with that spending, conduct targeted voter outreach, and support President Trump and our candidates nationwide.”
The DNC’s debt is tied in with a large line of credit opened before the November 2025 contests meant in part to help bolster party infrastructure. In an interview with CBS News last year, Martin characterized the line of credit as a “big bet” that allowed the party to invest heavily in those off-year races, and argued the party “won big.”
Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House, and Democrats have a strong path to potentially winning back the chamber for the final two years of Mr. Trump’s time in the White House. Flipping the Senate from GOP control is a far more stark challenge.
For Democrats to win back the Senate this fall, they would likely have to hold on to every seat they currently have that is also on the ballot and also flip four seats from a competitive batch of contests in North Carolina, Maine, Ohio, Alaska, Texas and Iowa.
All of that sets the table for what is expected to be an expensive and tense midterm election, making the larger money game in American politics even more critical. And in recent weeks, the DNC has at times turned to Kelly, the battleground senator from Arizona, to help bring in cash.
This winter, Kelly has been mired in a tense confrontation with Mr. Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that has been evoked in DNC small-dollar asks.
Hegseth directed an investigation into Kelly after he participated in a video with other lawmakers reminding service members they don’t have to follow illegal orders. In a January social media post, Hegseth claimed that Kelly and his fellow Democrats had “released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline,” and said the Pentagon was initiating proceedings to reduce Kelly’s rank and retirement pay over “seditious statements — and his pattern of reckless misconduct.”
Shortly after, Kelly sued the Pentagon for allegedly retaliating against him in violation of the First Amendment for comments he made years after he served in the military. Kelly and the Justice Department argued their cases in court last week and a judge said he would rule within the next few weeks.
And on Tuesday, a federal grand jury turned down an effort by the Justice Department to criminally charge Kelly and five other lawmakers over the video, CBS News reported.
An elected official lending their name to help the national party is incredibly common. But the situation Kelly finds himself in is one that carries major implications in Washington — and has pushed him further into the national spotlight while providing fodder for donor emails that helped the DNC raise money last month.
“Pete Hegseth can threaten to reduce my rank and my pension. But I am not going to let him intimidate me, or anyone else,” Kelly said in one January DNC fundraising email. “He is not going to stop me from defending our democracy from a president who is hellbent on destroying it.”
Eleanor Watson, Fin Daniel Gómez and Anne Bryson contributed to this report.