The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has a $18 million debt after the midterm elections, according to NBC News.
The group's red ink comes after a successful year of flipping 39 congressional seats and taking back the majority in the House of Representatives. The DCCC 's fundraising numbers for the 2018 cycle was $272 million, which included $106.3 million online. For comparison, the DCCC's Republican counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee took out $12 million line of credit that has yet to be paid back.
The 2018 elections were the most expensive midterms in history with a record $5.2 billion being spent. The DCCC spent over $100,000 in over 80 congressional districts.
The DCCC received some help from the Democratic National Committee but not as much as the previous election cycles. The DNC gave the DCCC $4.85 million this cycle compared to the $5 million they gave in 2014 and 2016.
The current DCCC chairman, Congressman Ben Ray Lujan (D., N.M.) is running for a different position in leadership, leaving the post open. Several Democrats are running to replace Lujan: Rep. Cheri Bustos (D., Ill.), Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D., N.Y.), Rep. Denny Heck (D., Wash.), and Rep. Suzan DelBene (D., Wash.). The vote to fill the position will be held on Wednesday along with all the other leadership posts in the Democratic Party, including the race for speaker of the House.
Maloney has has asked for a delay in the vote for the DCCC chairmanship due to him being hospitalized from a bacterial infection. If the vote is not delayed, Maloney says he will drop out of the race.