Pelosi Duns Caucus for Unpaid Dues to Fund Democrats' Campaigns

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is pushing her colleagues to pay their outstanding party dues by Friday because Democrats still have last-ditch campaign ads and voter drives to fund, Politico reports.

Pelosi and Rep. Steve Israel of New York, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, held a members-only conference call on Tuesday stressing an "urgent need" for more campaign cash in the home stretch, Politico reports.

Only 77 of the House's 199 Democrats have covered all of the dues they pledged going into the final weekend before election day on Nov. 4, according to data from a DCCC dues sheet obtained by Politico.

Some senior House members who have raised substantial sums for individual colleagues are nevertheless "tens of thousands" of dollars in arrears to the DCCC, Politico reports, naming Reps. Terri Sewell of Alabama, G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina and Nita Lowey of New York among those still behind on dues.

The caucus has contributed $27 million in this election cycle to the DCCC.

A Democratic aide told Politico that the conference call was to help the party "keep pace with Republican outside groups and self-funders who continue to dump money into races across the country in a tough environment."

Democrats are expected by most electoral observers to lose several more House seats next week, and could lose their Senate majority in an election cycle marked by low turnout and an unpopular Democratic president.

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