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RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Oct. 28. (Frederic J. Brown - AFP / Getty Images)

Republican Party's Finances Don't Paint a Pretty Picture Ahead of 2024

By Ben Kew November 28, 2023 at 10:13am

The Republican Party has a big money problem.

A report published by The Washington Post on Monday claimed that the party’s finances are “increasingly worrisome to party members.”

According to 10 insiders who spoke with the outlet, the Republican National Committee had just $9.1 million in cash as of the end of last month, which is the lowest amount reported in any Federal Election Commission report since February 2015.

At the same stage in the 2016 presidential election cycle, the party had $20 million in cash reserves, and in the 2020 cycle, that figure was closer to $61 million.

“It’s a revenue problem,” Tennessee RNC member Oscar Brock told the Post.

“We’re going through the same efforts we always go through to raise money: the same donor meetings, retreats, digital advertising, direct mail. But the return is much lower this year.”

“If you know the answer, I’d love to know it,” he continued. “The staff has managed to tighten down on expenses to keep the party from going into the red.”

This is a real problem.

Donations to GOP drop as worries mount about the party’s finances – The Washington Post https://t.co/Ra7wCV2dcx

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) November 27, 2023

Sources who spoke with the paper claim that donors have been less willing to make large donations over the past few years, while they have also struggled to bring in the small-dollar donations the party also heavily relies on.

Do you approve of Ronna McDaniel’s work as RNC chair?

Another concern among anti-Trump donors is that contributing will help the former president at a time when they are seeking to prevent him from becoming its 2024 nominee and banish his influence across the party.

RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel, who remains an increasingly unpopular figure within the party’s grassroots, insisted that there was “nothing unusual” about the current financial issues and that major donors are still rallying behind their preferred candidates and will shore up their support once the nominee is confirmed.

“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,” she told the Post. “That’s what I hear more than anything. And they’re really solidly in the camps of their candidate, which is normal.”

“There’s nothing unusual about this because they know that once their candidate gets in that we will merge and that we’ll be working together to win the White House,” she continued.

Trump, meanwhile, has criticized McDaniel for going ahead with presidential debates and urged the party’s leadership to focus on combating voter fraud.

“RNC must save money on lowest ever ratings debates. Use it against the Democrats to STOP THE STEAL! If not, REVAMP THE RNC, NOW!!!” he wrote on Truth Social last week.

Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee reported cash holdings of $17.7 million as of the end of last month.

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