News: We have an exclusive look at the August fundraising hauls from Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team. The long recess marked a critical stretch for House Republicans, who have been racing to narrow the cash gap with Democrats. Here’s a rundown:
— Johnson raised more than $4 million directly for members and candidates in swing districts. Team Johnson also had its best month ever in online fundraising in August, while also raising several million dollars for the speaker’s campaign entities. Johnson campaigned in 60 cities across 21 states, appearing with nearly 70 members and candidates throughout the month.
— NRCC Chair Richard Hudson helped rake in more than $1.2 million for members, candidates and the House GOP’s campaign arm. Hudson went to a total of 10 states and was with 38 members and candidates.
— House Majority Leader Steve Scalise raised $4 million directly for his own entities and traveled across four states, including a big California swing.
— House Majority Whip Tom Emmer brought in $2.5 million, visited 25 cities and attended 20 candidate-specific events.
— House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik hauled in a total of $4 million, including $2 million for the House Battleground Fund in New York.
The money moves from top House Republicans come as Democrats hold a significant fundraising advantage over Republicans. Democrats’ swamping of Republicans in the money chase is all the chatter in GOP circles in recent weeks.
In the second quarter of this year, Democratic incumbents and challengers outraised their Republican opponents by an average of more than $440,000, according to the DCCC.
The House Democrats’ campaign arm said Frontliners had an average cash-on-hand of $2.7 million. That’s five times more than their GOP counterparts.
The NRCC didn’t respond for a comment regarding this massive fundraising discrepancy.
But there has been a bit of divide inside the House GOP conference over just how candid to be — both publicly and privately — about their money problems.
On the one hand, sounding the alarm could help light a fire underneath donors and members. That was the purpose of the conference-wide call Hudson helped arrange early last month where he warned that lawmakers need to step up to the plate if they want to keep the majority.
But on the other hand, there’s a desire among top Republicans to project optimism. Johnson said on a Trump campaign call Friday that House Republicans potentially could end up with a 13-seat majority if they have a good night on Nov. 5.
Downplaying the cash disparities: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) acknowledged that he thought Democrats’ fundraising was “impressive,” but the GOP moderate noted that he’s been outraised in previous cycles and still managed to win.
“My opponent got $500K from Act Blue which is tough to match. But, I’ve been outraised [in] three of four elections and have won,” Bacon told us. “We counter with a better ground game, better record and a better message.”
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito’s (R-N.Y.) campaign is hitting his Democratic opponent Laura Gillen by saying most of her donations come from outside of the 4th District while D’Esposito’s are mostly small dollar contributions from locals.
Meanwhile, Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y) said his Democratic opponent Josh Riley’s advocacy against the Trump administration’s border policies — as well as ties to a law firm that once represented Harvey Weinstein — are “big problems” for voters in New York’s 19th District.
“Money won’t change that,” Molinaro told us.
Challengers’ view: Democrats running in these closely-watched races told us their stance on issues like reproductive rights and Vice President Kamala Harris jumping to the top of the Democratic ticket have helped fuel donations.
Candidates have also leaned on the DCCC and leadership for additional financial support.
For example, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar will host an event for Derek Tran in northern California in the coming weeks. Tran is challenging GOP Rep. Michelle Steel in California’s 45th District. That includes Orange County, Calif., a critical region if Democrats want to take back the House.
Tran surpassed Steel for the first time in fundraising last quarter, raising over $1.2 million to Steel’s roughly $1 million. Steel still has a cash-on-hand advantage.
– Mica Soellner and Melanie Zanona
