The national Democratic Party is backing just one black female House candidate out of more than 40 because that one, Lauren Underwood, is the only one who has shown she can raise significant funds on her own, Axios reports.
The Democratic Party spends a lot of money to ensure it gets the black vote in elections, but it's not spending big money to prop up black female candidates who can't sustain their own campaigns. The money - and backing - goes to candidates who are financially viable, which means electable, Axios reports.
Underwood, who has raised nearly $600,000 so far in her Illinois campaign, has the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, but she's the only one out of at least 43 mounting House challenges, Axios reports.
"These are organizations that are meant to help make sure black interests are represented and yet everybody is looking at who’s more electable based on money," Axios quoted Alabama congressional candidate Audri Scott Williams, who has raised a little more than $25,000.
Williams' opponent in the upcoming Democratic primary in Alabama's 2nd District is Tabitha Isner, a white woman who has raised north of $150,000. Both pale in comparison to Republican incumbent Rep. Martha Roby, who has raised more than $1.4 million in her re-election bid in the dead-red state.
That's not going to earn either Democrat more than a cursory glance from the national party.
"While the DNC does not endorse in contested primaries, we work with our state parties to make sure first-time candidates have the tools and information they need," DNC Political and Organizing Director Amanda Brown Lierman said in a statement to Axios.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.