Democratic Committee Ends House Campaign Cycle $18 Million in Debt

In the three weeks since the midterm elections, Democrats have been steadily watching their number of victories in House races tick up. As of Wednesday, the party had gained 39 congressional seats, easily giving it control of the House.

But all that winning came at a cost: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the arm of the party focused on House races, ended the campaign cycle with $18 million in debt, according to a Democratic strategist briefed on the group’s finances.

That amount of debt at the end of a campaign cycle is not unusual for the DCCC, which has recorded at least $10 million in debt at the end of every recent cycle in the past decade, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. During the 2016 elections, it incurred $14 million in debt; it had more than $19 million after the elections in 2010 and more than $16 million after the elections in 2008. In the past, the group has tended to pay down its debt quickly.

Still, the total this year underscores just how aggressively the group tried to beat Republicans in House races. The group said it had invested at least $100,000 in 85 districts, overwhelming Republican candidates in races across the country. They include Florida’s 26th Congressional District, where Debbie Mucarsel-Powell beat the Republican incumbent, Carlos Curbelo; and New York’s 19th Congressional District, where Antonio Delgado defeated Republican Rep. John J. Faso.

Democrats also flipped seats in deep-red states like Utah and Kansas.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the equivalent Republican group, also more than emptied its war chest, incurring $12 million in debt this cycle, an NRCC official confirmed.

NBC News earlier reported the cycle’s debt figures.

Although they did not announce the figures, both parties seemed somewhat eager to have them become public, in part because it could make fundraising for debt retirement easier.

Democrats on Wednesday were expected to select the next chair of the DCCC, as well as other members of its leadership team.