The Democratic National Committee hauled in more than $14.4 million in February — the most in any February in DNC history — as Democratic donors are waking to the possibility of their party taking a beating in the midterms, according to two sources with knowledge of the committee’s fundraising.
February's total includes more than $7 million from large donors, which was nearly twice the internal high-dollar goal and what one of the sources called "the best February in major donor history." Many donors opened their wallets last month after not giving in 2021, according to one of the sources.
Major dollars just slightly outpaced grassroots money, which averaged $25 online, according to the sources.
NBC News obtained the numbers ahead of next week’s filing deadline.
“Major donor fundraising has taken off, as evident by us doubling our February goal,” one source said. “As the president and vice president begin to do more and more in-person events, we will continue to break major donor fundraising records this year.”
The news comes as the president is to host his first in-person fundraiser Monday evening in Washington. Since Biden took office amid the pandemic, his fundraising engagement has been mostly limited to video calls with supporters.
The fundraising bump is a bright spot for Democrats, who have watched their president’s polling numbers slide over the last year, and comes after a rough period between DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and the White House. The administration has since taken steps to repair relations, including arranging a White House meeting between Biden and Harrison.
There are signs that Biden is having a direct impact on the bigger numbers. Internally, 50 percent of all grassroots fundraising revenue came directly from signed texts or emails by the president, first lady, vice president and second gentleman, according to one of the sources.
Some donors also appear to be re-engaging after taking a break following the 2020 election as they become more tuned into the possible policy and political repercussions of losing the majority, one of the sources said, with some expressing concern over how a majority change in Congress could affect the handling of Ukraine, voting rights and other issues.
“We're getting a lot of donors who didn’t give last year who are now giving,” the source said. “It’s a lot of things. Voter suppression is an issue, people are distressed about that. They feel that if they lose the majority, working-class people will be severely injured. They’ll try to roll things back, you can’t really do anything, that will be it. The progress will stop and it will be an ugly situation.”
