Politics | Democratic National Convention Democrats Can't Find Cash for Convention $15M short, Denver fundraisers hawking political access By Kevin Spak Posted May 28, 2008 10:41 AM CDT Copied Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean talks about next years Democratic convention, accompanied by Leah Daughtry, convention chairman, during a walk-through of Denver's Pepsi Center, Nov. 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) Democrats aren’t just wringing their hands over who they’ll nominate at their national convention—they’re also wondering who's going to pick up the tab. The Denver host committee has raised just $25 million of the $40.6 million it needs by June 16, the New York Times reports, which has Dems scrambling to find donors—or scale back plans. “We will raise the money,” vowed a host committee spokesman. “We can’t make any excuses.” But excuses abound—most notably that the long primary race is sapping donations. The Republicans, by contrast, have already raised 80% of their $39 million goal. To make up the ground, the host committee is aggressively courting corporate sponsorships, offering access to key politicians in return. Read These Next Lily Allen's 'revenge dress' literally has the receipts. Two animals thought to have vanished 6K years ago are back. Rumors of Iran invasion swirl after Army calls off major drill. After 12-year-old boy's crash on e-motorcycle, his dad is charged. Report an error