Tom Perez has $634,000 cash on hand and the rest in hard commitments. | Getty Perez rakes in cash for DNC chair bid

Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez has raised over $825,000 in his bid to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, according to a top campaign aide.

Perez, who jumped into the race just six weeks ago, has $634,000 cash on hand and the rest in hard commitments, according to the source, who declined to speak on the record.


It’s a hefty sum for a party leadership contest that spans only a few months, and it will be a helpful talking point in a race for a position in which fundraising is an important task. Current and former party officials have estimated the DNC candidates will need to raise well over $100,000 — and perhaps close to $1 million — to compete this year.

Seventy-three percent of Perez’s donors contributed $200 or less, according to the source — a signal that his campaign understands the importance of small-dollar donors after a presidential primary in which Bernie Sanders built a small-donor juggernaut.

“Tom’s commitment to fundraising to support his campaign for DNC chair is only a preview into his future commitment to raising money for the DNC, which is vitally crucial as we take the fight to Donald Trump,” the Perez source said. “Donations have been used for travel from coast to coast and rural areas to talk to state parties, DNC members and activists, as well as staff and engaging on digital platforms and other mechanisms to communicate with members.”

Since announcing in December his intention to run for chairman, Perez has held more than 15 fundraising events across the country. The former Cabinet secretary has used a 527 group — a tax-exempt advocacy organization — to fundraise for his bid to run the committee and put a set of self-imposed restrictions, including a donation cap of $33,400.

The fundraising figures come less than a month before the 447 voting members of the DNC pick the next chairman, on Feb. 23 at the party’s winter meeting in Atlanta. Most of the seven candidates haven’t released their fundraising numbers. According to Rep. Keith Ellison’s team, the Minnesota congressman and chief rival to Perez raised $150,000 in the first two weeks of his campaign in November.

The other candidates are South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison; New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley: Idaho Democratic Party Executive Director Sally Boynton Brown: and former Fox News analyst Jehmu Greene, a Democratic strategist.

