Republican National Committee Is Struggling to Raise Money: Report

The Republican National Committee is in a funding drought, listing less cash on hand as of October 30 than on any report filed to the Federal Election Commission since February 2015, according to a report from The Washington Post. 

A comparative analysis by the Post found that with only $9.1 million cash on hand, the RNC has brought in only about one-seventh of the amount of cash they had ahead of the 2020 election cycle — when their coffers were stuffed with about $61 million in available funds. This dropoff comes despite former President Donald Trump once again being the leading candidate in the 2024 primaries. Comparatively, the Democratic National Committee is sitting on $17.7 million cash on hand. 

The cause of the disparity is not immediately clear, but the RNC’s struggles in recent midterm election cycles may have left donors skittish over the party’s ability to produce results. The Post spoke to over 10 sources who raised concerns over the committee’s financial troubles. 

“The RNC’s electoral record since 2017 speaks for itself,” Virginia RNC member Patti Lyman told the Post, who opposed McDaniel when she was reelected to another term in January. “The damage from that chair election goes far beyond the drop in donations. Our base was demoralized.”

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel brushed off the financial struggles in a statement to the Post. “I think there’s more donors just fully committed to their candidate right now, saying I am all in, and once the nominee is set, I’ll be there. That’s what I hear more than anything. And they’re really solidly in the camps of their candidate, which is normal,” McDaniel said, adding that there was “nothing unusual” about the situation. 

Following the GOP’s poor showing in the November elections, McDaniel was forced to fend off calls for her resignation. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called for her to step down from her position as leader of the committee during a November primary debate, and CNBC reported shortly after the midterms that Trump had grown “increasingly sour” over McDaniels ability to manage the party.

Despite the criticism, McDaniel has committed to supporting Trump if he secures the nomination. “Whoever the voters choose is the appropriate nominee,” she told CNN earlier this month., “”I know this is newsworthy, but as party chair, I’m going to support who the voters choose and yes, if they choose Donald Trump.”

The Republican National Committee is in a funding drought, listing less cash on hand as of October 30 than on any report filed to the Federal Election Commission since February 2015, according to a report from The Washington Post. 

A comparative analysis by the Post found that with only $9.1 million cash on hand, the RNC has brought in only about one-seventh of the amount of cash they had ahead of the 2020 election cycle — when their coffers were stuffed with about $61 million in available funds. This dropoff comes despite former President Donald Trump once again being the leading candidate in the 2024 primaries. Comparatively, the Democratic National Committee is sitting on $17.7 million cash on hand. 

The cause of the disparity is not immediately clear, but the RNC’s struggles in recent midterm election cycles may have left donors skittish over the party’s ability to produce results. The Post spoke to over 10 sources who raised concerns over the committee’s financial troubles. 

“The RNC’s electoral record since 2017 speaks for itself,” Virginia RNC member Patti Lyman told the Post, who opposed McDaniel when she was reelected to another term in January. “The damage from that chair election goes far beyond the drop in donations. Our base was demoralized.”

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel brushed off the financial struggles in a statement to the Post. “I think there’s more donors just fully committed to their candidate right now, saying I am all in, and once the nominee is set, I’ll be there. That’s what I hear more than anything. And they’re really solidly in the camps of their candidate, which is normal,” McDaniel said, adding that there was “nothing unusual” about the situation. 

Following the GOP’s poor showing in the November elections, McDaniel was forced to fend off calls for her resignation. Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy called for her to step down from her position as leader of the committee during a November primary debate, and CNBC reported shortly after the midterms that Trump had grown “increasingly sour” over McDaniels ability to manage the party.

Despite the criticism, McDaniel has committed to supporting Trump if he secures the nomination. “Whoever the voters choose is the appropriate nominee,” she told CNN earlier this month., “”I know this is newsworthy, but as party chair, I’m going to support who the voters choose and yes, if they choose Donald Trump.”