The Republican National Committee is being accused of funneling a disproportionate amount of its funds towards the presidential election, while neglecting critical down-ballot races.
Some Republicans believe this is influenced by Trump’s daughter-in-law and RNC co-chair, Lara Trump.
Many Republicans expressed concern about her being given the position after Ronna McDaniel’s exit earlier this year, arguing that she had no political experience or qualifications outside of being a member of the Trump family, and called it blatant nepotism.
In a Fox News interview during her run for co-chair, she said, “You need to reestablish that people can feel good about donating to the RNC – which right now, you know, some people aren’t really sure how is their money being spent.”
She was likely referring to the report from the previous fiscal year, showing the RNC spent $70,328.00 on floral arrangements (compared to the Democratic National Committee’s $795), $1,078,279.47 on consultants (compared to the Democratic National Committee’s $114,000), $297,717.64 on office supplies (compared to the DNC’s $45,005) and $263,127.25 on limousines (compared to the DNC’s) $7,000. When it came to the items actually critical to tangibly advancing their missions and their supporters’ interests, however, the DNC significantly outspent the RNC.
The RNC spent $39,233.50 on voter file maintenance compared to the DNC’s $235,865.88 and $86,019 on GOTV texts compared to the DNC’s $1,676,923.29.
She continued, “[What] I can assure you is if I am there I will make sure that every single penny donated to the RNC goes to electing Donald Trump – and again extending our lead in the House and taking back the Senate.”
While spending has improved since the change in leadership, Republican staffers and strategists insist the Committee isn’t doing enough to support Senate and House races.
As much attention is on the presidential race, the Senate will be especially significant, as Kamala Harris has expressed renewed interest in ending the filibuster.
In a recent interview on Wisconsin Public Radio, she said “I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe. To actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do.”
This isn’t the first time the Democrats have indicated plans to end the filibuster. It was also attempted in 2022, over the federalization of elections and implementing sweeping mail-in voting initiatives.
In 2022, despite Democrats having the tie-breaking vote via Kamala Harris, they weren’t able to succeed in abolishing the filibuster because of West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema, who opposed it on ideological grounds despite being registered Democrats at the time. Since then, they’ve both declared themselves Independents and announced their respective retirements – meaning there are no Democratic senators or senate candidates on record who will defend the filibuster.
This also raises serious concerns for Republicans about packing the Supreme Court and granting statehood to Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.
Earlier in the election cycle, multiple left leaning outlets predicted a Senate victory for the Republicans, but as the fundraising disparity increases, Republicans become more nervous.
Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) said, “The only thing preventing us from having a great night in November is the massive financial disparity our party currently faces. We are on a trajectory to win the majority, but unless something changes drastically in the next six weeks, we will lose winnable seats.”
Politico reports:
The leader of House Republicans’ biggest super PAC told donors last month he needed $35 million more to compete with Democrats in the fall. Senate GOP campaign chair Steve Daines used his primetime speaking slot at the Republican convention to lament that massive spending from Democrats was keeping him awake at night. And his House GOP counterpart warned that their party’s challengers trailed Democratic incumbents by a collective $37 million at the end of June.
After the first presidential debate of the election cycle between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, major donors began withholding contributions, demanding a change in candidate, as Joe Biden’s cognitive decline could no longer be hidden. After Kamala Harris replaced him, PACs and committees benefitted from a major fundraising surge, and have steadily outpaced their Republican counterparts since.
Despite the neverending song and dance about “making the rich pay their fair share” and Trump being “for billionaires” while Kamala represents “the people,” FEC records tell a very different story, with most major corporations generously supporting the sitting vice president. As of this month, company PACs and employees from Google gave Harris almost $1,500,000, Microsoft gave her over $700,000, with Apple and Oracle both gifting her over $200,000. The biggest company that contributed to Trump’s campaign was American Airlines, at $134,174.
According to Open Secrets, a record number of “dark money” donations have been injected into this election cycle, raising questions about the origins and legality of the donations – especially in relation to foreign election meddling.
Kamala Harris has transferred $10 million to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and $10 million to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) – a massive jump from 2020’s figures.
Politico continues:
The transfers to support down-ballot races are notable both for their timing and large amounts. In 2020, the DNC transferred $5 million to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and $1 million to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in mid-October, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. Earlier money gives the committees more spending options, as common campaign tactics such as hiring staff, taping ads or printing mailers take time.
Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement, “The vice president believes that this race is about mobilizing the entire country, in races at every level, to fight for our freedoms and our economic opportunity. That’s why the vice president has made the decision to invest a historic sum into electing Democrats up and down the ballot.”
On the contrary, neither Trump nor the RNC have transferred anything to the congressional races. While the case can be made for Trump focusing on his own race as Harris consistently outraises him and he faces a growing list of expensive legal battles, the RNC’s lack of involvement has left Republicans and Democrats alike puzzled.
Republicans and supportive PACs and organizations are trailing $500 million behind their Democratic opponents in ad spends.
According to GOP insiders, senior House Republicans (including National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson) have made repeated requests for President Trump to make an appearance at an event for the Committee. In the past, similar events attached to the former president have led to eight figure cash infusions that Republican candidates are desperate for.
At the 2018 National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spring dinner, House Republicans raised a whopping $32 million with the help of President Trump. The next year, the Trump-attended dinner brought in $23 million. The event was skipped due to coronavirus restrictions in 2020, and in 2021, Trump helped raise $17 million.
Sources say that Trump has agreed to fundraise for NRCC this cycle, but hasn’t been able to carve out the time yet.
Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance did agree to host a joint fundraiser with Rep. Elise Stefanik to benefit Republican Senate candidates.
Politico explains:
Democrats are outspending Republicans in six of the top eight Senate races, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. In Arizona, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and his allies have a $57 million advantage on the air over Republican Kari Lake. Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and their allies both have $41 million edges over their respective Republican challengers.
The funding in part reflects the Harris operation’s ability to spread money around after record fundraising over the past six weeks. But it is also a recognition of the importance of this year’s down-ballot races — which overlap with many of the swaths of the country that could decide the presidential election, and whose outcomes will substantially affect how Harris, or former President Donald Trump, will be able to govern next year.
As enthusiastic as most Republicans are about President Trump, without a majority in either chamber of Congress, both the president and his supporters will find themselves frustrated with what he’s able to accomplish if reelected.
Though he may follow in his Democratic predecessors’ footsteps and use his executive powers outside of their intended application, without support from Republicans – particularly in the Senate – Trump will likely struggle to address the issues that voters care most about.
The NRSC could not be reached for comment.
