Halfway through Year One of the Trump presidency, the Democratic base is energized. Its voters are showing up at rallies, crowding town hall forums, self-organizing into local groups and scaring Republican incumbents: If Democrats turn out to vote in the 2018 midterms at the same levels they have in 2017's special elections, the party will pick up 80 seats in the U.S. House.

There's one problem for the Democrats: The party has a serious fundraising crisis.

Over the first six months of 2017, the Republican National Committee pulled in $75 million—nearly twice as much money as the Democratic National Committee, which raised $38 million. The predicament isn't simply that there is a funding gap between the parties; it's what kind of money they attract. Republicans have quietly taken a decisive edge over Democrats when it comes to small-dollar fundraising.