Speaker Mike Johnson will be out West this week on a campaign swing that will take him to Arizona and New Mexico, according to a person familiar with his schedule.
Johnson will be in Arizona Wednesday and Thursday, fundraising for Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) and Abe Hamadeh, who is running to fill retiring Rep. Debbie Lesko’s (R-Ariz.) seat in the Phoenix suburbs.
The Ciscomani fundraiser will be in Tucson. The Hamadeh fundraiser is in Paradise Valley at his brother’s home.
House Republicans, aides and advisers in the GOP’s larger political orbit have become alarmed in recent weeks at the party’s cash position vis-à-vis Democrats. The DCCC has $17 million more in the bank. And Democratic candidates have been consistently outraising their GOP opponents this cycle.
To give a sense of just how much the political landscape has shifted for Republicans, NRCC Chair Richard Hudson told us at the GOP convention in Milwaukee that he was looking to expand the number of seats the party would contest because of the strength of former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
By last week, Hudson told incumbent House Republicans on a conference call that they need to show more effort to hold the House.
Plus, this week Democrats have their convention in Chicago, from which the party is sure to get a huge boost.
Johnson, to his credit, has spent much of the summer fundraising. Johnson just had his retreat last week at the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and he’ll be hopping from coast to coast in the coming weeks to raise money for House Republicans. This month, Johnson will have traveled to 20 states and over 40 cities.
During a House GOP political conference call last week, Johnson announced a $4 million transfer to the NRCC. He has given $20 million to the NRCC since becoming speaker in October.
Johnson has recently been in Colorado, Montana, Washington State and California.
