If you want to get a sense of who the most ambitious freshmen are going to be next Congress, look no further than the candidates who’ve already given money to their party’s respective campaign committees.
Chipping in cash to the NRCC and DCCC is an easy — and early — move for incoming members to score valuable points with their future colleagues, particularly the leadership. It’s a way for candidates to flex their fundraising muscle while also signaling they intend to be team players.
Of course, this metric only applies to candidates running in the safest of seats, since they don’t need to spend much of their war chests on their own general election races. Still, it can be a good barometer to see who some of the most eager new members might be. Let’s break it down in the House.
Republicans:
Leading the pack for the GOP is Mike Haridopolos of Florida, who has given a total of $178,800 to the NRCC this cycle.
He has also donated $121,200 directly to candidates and incumbents, according to a source close to his campaign. Haridopolos is a former Florida state senator and lobbyist.
Next on the list is Riley Moore of West Virginia, who contributed $125,000, followed by a pair of Indiana House candidates: former GOP Rep. Marlin Stutzman, who gave $75,000, and Mark Messmer, who forked over $51,500. Stutzman served in the House from 2010 to 2017 and even ran for House Republican whip in 2014.
Rounding out the group is Jefferson Shreve, also from Indiana, who gave $41,300; Mark Harris of North Carolina, who donated $30,000; Pat Harrigan of North Carolina, who chipped in $29,329; Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota, who doled out $25,000; and Bob Onder of Missouri, who wired $10,000 to the NRCC.
Democrats:
The top givers to the DCCC are Luz Rivas of California, Sarah McBride of Delaware and Sarah Elfreth of Maryland. All three of them cut $100,000 checks to the House Democrats’ campaign arm. Following closely behind the trio is former Rep. Gil Cisneros of California, who is running again and contributed $75,000.
Next up is Julie Johnson of Texas and Maxine Dexter of Oregon, who both transferred $50,000 to the DCCC; Laura Friedman of California, who gave $40,000; Emily Randall of Washington, who gave $25,000; and John Olszewski Jr. of Maryland, who donated $10,000.
Aside from direct contributions, several candidates have also done fundraisers for the DCCC, which is equally appreciated by party leaders since it helps introduce the campaign arm to donors.
Lateefah Simon of California helped raise $280,000 for DCCC, George Latimer of New York raised $100,000, Yassamin Ansari of Arizona raised $51,000, and Wesley Bell of Missouri raised $10,000. Friedman has also raised $10,000 on top of her direct transfer to the DCCC.
