Small State, Big Debt: Delaware Republicans Face a Cash Crunch

Delaware’s state Republican party is broke.

Entering December, the Delaware Republican Party had a negative cash balance of nearly $7,800 and separate loan debts totaling $11,000, according to a new disclosure document the committee filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The new federal account disclosure illustrates how the Delaware Republican Party has been gripped by financial turmoil, having reported a negative cash-on-hand balance each month since July, FEC records indicate.

A political committee reporting a negative cash-on-hand balance to the FEC is uncommon. In the Delaware Republican Party’s case, it also caught the eyes of federal regulators, who earlier this month noted the negative balance in a warning letter.

The negative balance, the FEC wrote, “suggests that you have overdrawn your account, made a mathematical error, or incurred a debt.” It asked the Delaware Republican Party to formally clarify its finances by Jan. 12.

Nick Miles, the executive director of the Delaware Republican Party, denied that the committee has a negative cash balance or that any state party account was overdrawn. He described the negative balance as a “timing reporting issue” caused by outstanding checks — but he did acknowledge that the committee is facing financial issues.

“Like many small organizations and small businesses across our state, the Delaware GOP has faced challenges during an off-election year. This is not unusual,” Miles wrote in an email to NOTUS. “Even the national Democratic Party, currently the minority national party, has publicly acknowledged its own financial struggles during this same off-cycle period. Off-years always require tighter resource management and strategic planning for both parties.”

In a rebuttal to local reporting on their finances, the recently elected chair of the Delaware Republican Party, Gene Truono, said the committee is working with the Republican National Committee to correct course. Committee leadership has touted an “RNC-approved” 2026 strategic plan. Upon completion of the plan, the Republican National Committee has committed to $50,000, Miles confirmed to NOTUS.

“With national backing from the RNC, we are poised to challenge the status quo and deliver

wins that protect family values, promote economic growth, and ensure government serves

the people, not special interests,” Truono wrote in the rebuttal. “Conservatives in Delaware: your voice matters, and the fight is winnable.

The RNC did not respond to a request for comment.

While the finances of state- and national-level political committees sometimes fluctuate, the Delaware Republican Party’s financial troubles, some of which Spotlight Delaware previously reported, are particularly notable.

Of all the state Republican committees that file monthly disclosures with the FEC, the Delaware Republican Party reported the lowest cash-on-hand balance entering December.

Most of the Delaware Republican Party’s expenditures have been on operating costs. The party lists payments for “consulting” on its FEC reports, and clarified to NOTUS that it pays some officials as independent contractors and labels these payments as “consulting.”

FEC filings also show that Miles and Garrett Weldin, whose social media says he is communications director for the Delaware Republican Party, are paid for consulting as independent contractors instead of being on payroll.

Miles told NOTUS the only compensation they receive from the committee is reflected in the committee’s filings. Miles said they receive no “benefits, bonuses, stipends, reimbursements outside of normal expense reporting, or any other form of payment from the committee.”

The Delaware Republican Party’s latest finances contain other oddities.

For example, the committee indicates that Truono loaned it $1,000 on Nov. 5, with Truono’s address listed in Miami Beach, Florida.

Meanwhile, in a transaction dated Nov. 6, the Delaware Republican Party disclosed making a $1,000 contribution to Truono’s old U.S. Senate campaign committee — the committee is still technically active, but has been dormant since Truono lost the Republican Senate primary in 2018. (Truono’s campaign committee owes more than $200,000 to Truono himself for loans that he has made to the committee over the years.)

Miles told NOTUS that the Delaware Republican Party’s payment to Truono’s old campaign committee was a clerical error and not a political contribution, despite it being labeled as one. The initial $1,000 payment was made by Truono to address a “short-term funding issue,” Miles added.

“There was no intent to make a contribution to any current or active campaign, and no committee funds were used to support an active candidacy. This was a clerical reporting error stemming from legacy data in the vendor’s system, not a substantive or financial issue,” he said. “The committee has taken corrective steps to ensure the transaction is properly reflected in amended filings in order to maintain full compliance and transparency.”

The Delaware Republican Party’s most recent disclosure with the FEC also indicates it made a $6,000 political contribution to Georgia’s state Republican committee.

Asked why the contribution was necessary, Miles told NOTUS that the payment was routine.

“State parties often support one another when there are strategic opportunities or coordinated efforts that benefit the broader party infrastructure,” he said.

The Georgia Republican Party reported a cash-on-hand balance of more than $112,000 entering December.

Delaware is not a Republican powerhouse. The governorship and state Legislature has been controlled by Democrats for 17 years. Since 2001, all of Delaware’s representatives in Congress have been Democrats. The state’s most prominent politician is former President Joe Biden.

The Delaware Republican Party began the year with roughly $34,000 cash on hand, coming off a year of big fundraising due to the 2024 presidential election. Since then, the party’s cash reserve has dropped significantly. During most months in 2025, the party spent more money than it raised.

By contrast, Delaware’s Democratic state committee reported a cash-on-hand balance of $29,634.52 entering December, according to FEC records. That’s more than it started the year with.