The latest fundraising totals are in, and Democrats nearly doubled up Republicans in donations in October. The numbers are striking, with the RNC only pulling in $7.1 million to the DNC’s $13.1 million. Those totals were posted despite President Joe Biden’s approval being at record lows and numerous crises going on domestically and around the world.
The October numbers continue a troubling trend. In fact, the gap between the RNC and DNC was even larger in September.
According to the latest Federal Election Commission campaign filings, the DNC under the leadership of Jaime Harrison brought in $13.1 million last month compared with the RNC’s $ 7.1 million.
The DNC, chaired by Ronna McDaniel, spent $7.3 million in the month and ended the month with $17.7 million on hand. It had $238,000 of debt. The RNC was chaired by Ronna McDaniel. She spent $7.3 million and had $9.1 in hand at the end of the month.
The fundraising figures for October are very similar to those of September when the DNC collected $13.3 million and the RNC $6.3 million.
Republicans have been plagued by the money gap for many cycles, including in 2023 when Democrats outspent Republicans in almost every race. Republicans had a slight edge in the Mississippi governor’s race. Money still plays a role in politics, even though it is taboo to discuss donors and money among party members because it is seen as an indication of impurity. The increasing election losses are enough to speak for themselves.
Republicans will be facing a lot of losses in the near future if they don’t do something. It starts by looking at the people who are responsible for raising money to support the national apparatus of the party. When the status quo results in election losses and a significant deficit in fundraising, it becomes much harder to defend the status quo. If that’s the outcome, then there is no point in having an RNC.
You need both. I understand that voters love the idea of smaller donors because they are part of the “establishment” (whatever that means today), but you also need large donors. The GOP needs wealthy donors who are willing to spend money to win the messaging battle. These people, for whatever reason, are mostly on the sidelines. The lack of fundraising is an obvious weakness.
It’s not only the RNC that is struggling. Biden’s fundraising campaign dwarfs that of any GOP candidate for president. This shows that this problem is much bigger than one party.
Republicans must be accountable. If the current fundraisers are not working, then they need to be changed. If the current leadership doesn’t produce, they should be replaced. It’s not personal and I don’t believe any of it is controversial. It’s always about winning elections. Nothing else matters if that doesn’t happen.
