The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has cut its debt by more than half, raising $19.6 million in the first quarter of this year.

House Democrats’ chief campaign operation started off this year $19.5 million in the hole — a debt that shrunk to just $8 million by the end of March, the committee announced Thursday morning.

Under the leadership of new DCCC Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.), the committee also announced that this was the strongest off-year first quarter in DCCC history.

“Republicans’ radical agenda to end Medicare and play chicken with a government shutdown, while protecting taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil, is turning off independent voters and energizing our Democratic supporters,” Israel said in a statement. “As a result, the DCCC is back on sound financial footing and aggressively focused on holding Republicans accountable for their radical agenda.”

A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee did not immediately return a request for comment about its fundraising figures. However, at of the end of February, the NRCC reported having $4.3 million in the bank and $9.5 million in debt.