May 18 (UPI) -- The fundraising arm for House Democrats is looking at a record influx of cash this year to power candidates for next year's midterm elections.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Thursday that since the beginning of the year, it has exceeded the online donation level in all of 2015.
"The DCCC is actively building the largest battleground in a decade, and that's a testament to the grassroots energy that we're witnessing every day, in every corner of America," group spokesman Tyler Law said.
After less than six months, more than $20 million has already been raised, the DCCC said. The average individual donation amount has been $18. In all 12 months of 2015, the last pre-midterm year, the group raised $19.7 million.
The DCCC said the news is likely to unnerve Republicans.
"Our record-smashing grassroots, online fundraising haul is further evidence that House Democrats are on offense while Republicans are in a full meltdown," Law said.
More than 2 million people have joined the group's grassroots email campaign since the start of 2017, and about 156,000 new donors were found. The aim of the DCCC is to raise money and get Democratic candidates elected to the House.
House Republicans' online fundraising group, by contrast, raised less than $2 million between January and April -- which was still enough to surpass its entire Q1 2015 haul of $1.3 million.
The DCCC was one of the groups U.S. intelligence officials say was targeted last year by Russian hackers looking to intervene in the presidential election.
