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 A professional cornhole player with no arms, legs accused of murder. Moments before LaGuardia crash, strange odor on another plane. Iran war may bring the end of the venerable F-14 fighter jet. 'I messed up,' says LaGuardia controller. Report an error