House Republicans show new fundraising strength as 2024 cycle nears
Cami Mondeaux
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The main campaign fundraising arm for House Republicans reported a strong performance in the month of May, narrowly beating its Democratic counterpart for the first time this cycle.
The National Republican Congressional Committee raised $7.8 million in May, ending the month with $23.7 million cash on hand, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. The numbers put the party slightly above the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which reported an influx of $7.6 million last month.
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“House Republicans are on a winning streak — reining in Democrats’ reckless spending, cracking down on Biden’s executive overreach and out-fundraising the DCCC,” NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson said in a statement. “We will grow this Republican House majority, and today’s fundraising announcement shows that all the momentum remains on our side.”
However, House Democrats may still hold an advantage as the DCCC reported more than $28 million cash on hand at the beginning of June, which is roughly $5 million more than its GOP counterpart. Both committees reported no debt heading into the new month.
Republican leaders have since ramped up efforts to pour money into the House fundraising account, with GOP Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) even bidding $1 million on a wine bottle purchased by Rep. John Duarte (R-CA) during a closed-door leadership meeting on Wednesday, a source familiar confirmed to the Washington Examiner. That money is set to go toward the NRCC.
Also during that meeting, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) pledged $3 million to the committee, a source confirmed. If paid out, those two pledges put the NRCC over halfway to its total fundraising in May.
The report indicates strong momentum for vulnerable Republicans, particularly as several GOP members who ran competitive races in 2022 were faced with comparatively low amounts of cash on hand as well as staggering levels of fundraising debt at the beginning of this cycle.
The DCCC managed to raise more than the NRCC in the first quarter of 2023 after reporting a record-breaking $37.7 million, besting the NRCC, which raised $25.8 million.
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All 435 seats are up for grabs in 2024 as Republicans seek to hold their slim majority in the lower chamber. Of these, 42 are considered competitive, with most of those held by Democrats compared to Republicans, giving the GOP a slight advantage as it prepares for the next election cycle.
However, of the 42 competitive seats, 18 are held by Republicans in districts that voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, compared to just five Democrats who must defend their seats in districts carried by former President Donald Trump. That means there are just enough vulnerable GOP-held seats to keep things competitive heading into the next election cycle.