DFL, GOP still in debt, finance reports show

As heated discussions continue over the national debt, two of Minnesota’s major political parties are wresting with significant debts of their own. According to Federal Election Commission reports filed at the end of July, both the GOP and DFL continue to carry debt from the 2010 election cycle. The Republican Party of Minnesota owes the most — more than $600,000 while the DFL owes close to $300,000. The GOP also had a negative cash-on-hand balance.

The DFL ended June with $291,950.71 in debt while the GOP ended in the red to the tune of $608,147.51. At the end of 2010, the GOP had $681,066 in debt and the DFL had a deficit of $217,004.

The GOP spent more and took in more than the DFL over the last six months, with $1,155,662.18 in receipts and $1,132,739.48 in spending. The DFL spent $660,252.56 and took in $652,944.91 in the first half of the year.

The FEC reports only count debt for the federal activities of the parties. In March, the Star Tribune reported that the DFL was nearly $700,000 in debt and the GOP had nearly $780,000 in obligations from 2010 it still has to pay off.

GOP chair Tony Sutton, who recently announced he would start drawing a six-figure salary from the party, told the Star Tribune in March that “he expects to pay down about $500,000 of their debt by the end of May.”