
Scoop: DNC touts record fundraising under Ken Martin
The Democratic National Committee is touting a record $40 million raised in the first four months of Ken Martin 's chairmanship — more than any other chair in that time frame.
Why it matters: The news comes amid growing infighting and frustration from committee members, and after the New York Times reported the DNC's fundraising from major donors has dangerously dropped off.
"Powered by our grassroots community, the DNC has just set a new record for most money raised in the first four months under a new Chair — ever," Martin said in a statement, first provided to Axios.
Zoom in: The nearly $40 million raised from February through May surpasses the $37 million raised under Jamie Harrison's leadership in those same months in 2021, according to the DNC.
It is also almost twice as much as was raised in the months after the 2016 election, the first time Donald Trump was elected president.
Grassroots fundraising has been a big factor, with record grassroots fundraising for February and March.
What he's saying: " This is only the start, but it's a record-setting start that allows Democrats to meaningfully invest in every part of the country," Martin said in the statement.
"Our grassroots donors are sending a message to Donald Trump and rubber-stamp Republicans who are trying to steal health care from working people in exchange for billionaire tax handouts," he continued.
Zoom out: The DNC has struggled to show a united front after former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg stirred up controversy with an effort to back younger primary challengers to Democratic incumbents.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
18 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump orders ICE to expand efforts in NYC, LA, Chicago: See how many immigrants live in major metros
In a lengthy June 15 Truth Social post, President Donald Trump called for the "largest mass deportation program in history," calling on ICE officers to expand detentions and deportations in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, which he described as part of "the core of the Democrat Power Center." The post came after a weekend of nationwide "No King's Day protests and a military parade in the nation's capital to celebrate the Army's 250th birthday, a day that coincided with Trump's 79th birthday. According to U.S. Census data, The New York metro area has the nation's largest foreign-born population, followed by Los Angeles, Miami, Houston and Chicago. Trump did not mention Miami or Houston in his post, though they have some of the nation's largest foreign-born populations. Which cities have the most immigrants? Across the nation, immigrants make up roughly 14% of the population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly two-thirds of foreign-born residents live in 20 major metropolitan areas, the Pew Research Center reported. The New York, Los Angeles and Miami metro areas had the largest population of immigrants. About 60% of the nation's undocumented population lives in these same metro areas. Immigrants make up 19.2% of the civilian labor force. Immigrant workers made up 28.6% of all people employed in the construction industry, according to the Census Bureau. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022. Of that amount, $59.4 billion was paid to the federal government, and the remaining $37.3 billion was paid to state and local governments. The U.S. Census American Community Survey of 2023 collected data on the cities Trump mentioned and the others in the top five. Here's the demographic breakdown: Los Angeles City Census Bureau data shows nearly half of Los Angeles' population is Hispanic or Latino, and a third of all residents living there are immigrants. This includes foreign-born U.S. citizens and noncitizens. Although the exact count of undocumented immigrants in the city is not known, a 2020 study by University of Southern California Dornsife, estimated about 900,000 people in Los Angeles were undocumented and that most had been in the United States for 10 years or more. According to the nonprofit California Budget and Policy Center, immigrants make up roughly one-third of workers in the state, comprising an outsize share of the workforce in physically intense sectors like construction and agriculture. Economists say having fewer immigrants in the United States could weaken the economy, causing labor shortages and slowing economic growth. A 2024 analysis from Jamshid Damooei, executive director at the Center for Economics of Social Issues at California Lutheran University, found that work from undocumented employees created an additional 1.25 million jobs in California. 37.9% of Los Angeles-area workers were immigrants in 2023, according to USAFacts. Chicago Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker defended sanctuary laws protecting undocumented immigrants at a congressional hearing June 12. 'Safe and compassionate immigration policies, I believe, are vital. In fact, my own family owes everything to this country accepting a young refugee named Nicholas Pritzker to its shores over a century ago," he said. The Illinois TRUST Act prohibits state and local law enforcement from arresting, searching or detaining a person because of their immigration status. The law prohibits local police from cooperating with federal immigration officers, with some exceptions. 23% of Chicago-area workers were immigrants in 2023, according to USAFacts. New York City ICE recently arrested New York City comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander as he attempted to escort a man out of immigration court. The arrest, which went viral, is the latest standoff between federal agents and Democratic officials opposed to the Trump administration's tactics to detain mass numbers of of 2022, an estimated 412,000 undocumented immigrants lived in the city, according to the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs. That's a decline of 32% from 2012. Immigrants make up nearly 40% of the total population in New York City. Immigrants made up 44.3% of the city's total labor force − more than double the national share of 18.6%, according to the New York State Comptroller's Office.'Many industries in the city depend on these workers, including construction, where foreign-born workers made up almost 70% of all workers, while 65% worked in transportation and utilities, and nearly 55% worked in manufacturing,' the report said. In 2023, 36.8% of New York-area workers were immigrants in 2023, according to USAFacts. Miami Miami recently voted to enter a 287(g) agreement with federal immigration authorities. The partnership will allow local Miami police to enforce federal immigration laws. Local and state police in Florida already have 292 signed and pending agreements, the most of any state. Miami is home to more than 252,000 immigrants, representing 55% of the city's total population, according to the Census Bureau. In 2023, 50.7% of Miami-area workers are were immigrants in 2023, according to USAFacts. Houston Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign legislation that requires all county police to sign agreements with ICE, according to the Houston Chronicle. The partnership with federal immigration officials would allow local police to investigate the immigration status of people in their 70 counties in Texas already signed 287(g) agreements as of June. About 24% of Houston's population are immigrants, according to Census Bureau data. Immigrants make up nearly a third of the Houston workforce, according to the nonprofit American Immigration Council. As of 2023, 31% of Houston-area workers were immigrants, according to USAFacts. Read more: More than 600 local police agencies are partnering with ICE: See if yours is one of them


Washington Post
27 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Rhode Island lawmakers pass bill to ban sales of assault weapons
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island's Democratic-controlled state House on Friday approved legislation that would ban the sale and manufacturing of many semiautomatic rifles commonly referred to as assault weapons. The proposal now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Dan McKee, who has said he supports assault weapons bans. If the bill is signed into law, Rhode Island will join 10 states that have some sort of prohibition on high-powered firearms that were once banned nationwide and are now largely the weapon of choice among those responsible for most of the country's devastating mass shootings. Gun control advocates have been pushing for an assault weapons ban in Rhode Island for more than a decade. However, despite being a Democratic stronghold, lawmakers throughout the country's smallest state have long quibbled over the necessity and legality of such proposals. The bill only applies to the sale and manufacturing of assault weapons and not possession. Only Washington state has a similar law. Residents looking to purchase an assault weapon from nearby New Hampshire or elsewhere will also be blocked. Federal law prohibits people from traveling to a different state to purchase a gun and returning it to a state where that particular of weapon is banned. Nine states and the District of Columbia have bans on the possession of assault weapons, covering major cities like New York and Los Angeles. Hawaii bans assault pistols. Critics of Rhode Island's proposed law argued Friday during floor debates that assault weapons bans do little to curb mass shootings and only punish people with such rifles. 'This bill doesn't go after criminals, it just puts the burden on law-abiding citizens,' said Republican Sen. Thomas Paolino. It wasn't just Republicans who opposed the legislation. David Hogg — a gun control advocate who survived the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida — and the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence described the proposed ban as the 'weakest assault weapons ban in the country.' 'I know that Rhode Islanders deserve a strong bill that not only bans the sale, but also the possession of assault weapons. It is this combination that equals public safety,' Hogg said in a statement. Elisabeth Ryan, policy counsel at Everytown for Gun Safety, rejected claims that the proposed law is weak. 'The weakest law is what Rhode Island has now, no ban on assault weapons,' Ryan said. 'This would create a real, enforceable ban on the sale and manufacture of assault weapons, just like the law already working in Washington state, getting them off the shelves of Rhode Island gun stores once and for all.' Nationally, assault weapons bans have been challenged in court by gun rights groups that argue the bans violate the Second Amendment. AR-15-style firearms are among the best-selling rifles in the country. The conservative-majority Supreme Court may soon take up the issue. The justices declined to hear a challenge to Maryland's assault weapons ban in early June, but three conservative justices — Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas — publicly noted their disagreement. A fourth, Brett Kavanaugh, indicated he was skeptical that the bans are constitutional and predicted the court would hear a case 'in the next term or two.' ___ Associated Press writers David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri and Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.


Associated Press
33 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Rhode Island lawmakers pass bill to ban sales of assault weapons
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island's Democratic-controlled state House on Friday approved legislation that would ban the sale and manufacturing of many semiautomatic rifles commonly referred to as assault weapons. The proposal now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Dan McKee, who has said he supports assault weapons bans. If the bill is signed into law, Rhode Island will join 10 states that have some sort of prohibition on high-powered firearms that were once banned nationwide and are now largely the weapon of choice among those responsible for most of the country's devastating mass shootings. Gun control advocates have been pushing for an assault weapons ban in Rhode Island for more than a decade. However, despite being a Democratic stronghold, lawmakers throughout the country's smallest state have long quibbled over the necessity and legality of such proposals. The bill only applies to the sale and manufacturing of assault weapons and not possession. Only Washington state has a similar law. Residents looking to purchase an assault weapon from nearby New Hampshire or elsewhere will also be blocked. Federal law prohibits people from traveling to a different state to purchase a gun and returning it to a state where that particular of weapon is banned. Nine states and the District of Columbia have bans on the possession of assault weapons, covering major cities like New York and Los Angeles. Hawaii bans assault pistols. Critics of Rhode Island's proposed law argued Friday during floor debates that assault weapons bans do little to curb mass shootings and only punish people with such rifles. 'This bill doesn't go after criminals, it just puts the burden on law-abiding citizens,' said Republican Sen. Thomas Paolino. It wasn't just Republicans who opposed the legislation. David Hogg — a gun control advocate who survived the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida — and the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence described the proposed ban as the 'weakest assault weapons ban in the country.' 'I know that Rhode Islanders deserve a strong bill that not only bans the sale, but also the possession of assault weapons. It is this combination that equals public safety,' Hogg said in a statement. Elisabeth Ryan, policy counsel at Everytown for Gun Safety, rejected claims that the proposed law is weak. 'The weakest law is what Rhode Island has now, no ban on assault weapons,' Ryan said. 'This would create a real, enforceable ban on the sale and manufacture of assault weapons, just like the law already working in Washington state, getting them off the shelves of Rhode Island gun stores once and for all.' Nationally, assault weapons bans have been challenged in court by gun rights groups that argue the bans violate the Second Amendment. AR-15-style firearms are among the best-selling rifles in the country. The conservative-majority Supreme Court may soon take up the issue. The justices declined to hear a challenge to Maryland's assault weapons ban in early June, but three conservative justices — Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas — publicly noted their disagreement. A fourth, Brett Kavanaugh, indicated he was skeptical that the bans are constitutional and predicted the court would hear a case 'in the next term or two.' ___ Associated Press writers David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri and Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.