Donald Trump is the political fundraising equivalent of a rainmaker. He’s also something of a vacuum.
The former president raised more than $19 million in the first quarter of this year across his political organizations and entered April with a war chest that topped the staggering sum of $124 million. Trump’s robust fundraising in January, February, and March is just another example of his ability to attract millions of dollars in contributions from millions of grassroots donors in the post-presidency and, in effect (and forgive the cliche), make it rain.
But Trump’s growing cache of campaign cash is significant for another reason. The more he and his political operation, generally operating under the “Save America” brand, vacuum up, the less there is left over for other Republican candidates and Republican entities to raise for themselves ahead of the midterm elections.
True, Republicans and their committees are enjoying a banner 2022 cycle vis-a-vis fundraising. And yes, political fundraising in the United States is a multibillion-dollar business and seemingly on the rise. But money is finite, and some significant portion of the 679,445 donations to Trump’s political groups in the first quarter, averaging $28.04 each, might have landed elsewhere, perhaps the Republican National Committee or another potential 2024 presidential candidate, had they not been given to the former president.
Aside from that, Trump’s fundraising continues to demonstrate that his relationship with the conservative grassroots is solid, although this dynamic will be worth reevaluating after this year’s Republican primaries conclude and we can review how well the former president’s endorsed candidates performed. But in the meantime, the numbers tell the tale. Of those 679,445 donations Trump’s political entities received during the first three months of the year, 98.42% of them were under $200.
SERIES OF SWING SEATS MOVING REPUBLICANS’ WAY, POLITICAL HANDICAPPERS SAY
And even after expenses, which were considerable, the cash Trump has available to spend on a future presidential campaign grew by more than $2 million since the fourth quarter of last year. In other words, the former president is building a nice little nest egg to use to fend off any pesky primary challengers should he choose to mount a third White House bid in 2024. Now, to the field …
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North Carolina Senate race: Republican Rep. Ted Budd faltered early despite securing Trump’s endorsement in the GOP primary. But recent polling suggests the congressman has found his sea legs versus former Gov. Pat McCrory, whom the former president absolutely despises.
However, Budd might owe a debt of gratitude not to Trump but to the Club for Growth, which continues to pour millions into this race to boost Budd over McCrory, former Rep. Mark Walker, and military veteran Marjorie K. Eastman. In the club’s latest advertisement, GOP Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is popular with grassroots conservatives, endorses Budd and criticizes McCrory while speaking straight to camera. “I’m throwing my weight,” he says, “behind a principled conservative choice for U.S. Senate: my friend, Ted Budd.” Primary Day is May 17.
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Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District: In a surprise move this week, the State Executive Committee of the Tennessee Republican Party voted to remove a trio of GOP candidates from the party’s primary ballot in the Nashville-area 5th Congressional District. The Tennessee Legislature had recently passed a law creating a more aggressive residency requirement for House candidates, meaning it’s not necessarily a surprise that recent Nashville transplant and Trump-endorsed Morgan Ortagus was kicked off the ballot.
But nobody thought the threat to her campaign would come from the Tennessee Republican Party. And nobody thought Trump acolyte (though not Trump-endorsed) Robby Starbuck, not to mention Baxter Lee, would get the boot with her. Officially, they were removed from the ballot for violating party bylaws. But a Republican source tells the Washington Examiner this might not be the last word on who, or who is not, on the final 5th District GOP primary ballot that will be made available to voters on Aug. 4.
Meanwhile, there’s a larger story brewing in Nashville around this confusing Republican primary campaign, as a state senator backing a candidate who was not kicked off the ballot uttered obviously antisemitic remarks concerning Ortagus’s situation and whether Trump might have something to say about his endorsed candidate getting the shaft. “I don’t think Trump cares one way or the other,” Republican Frank Niceley said, according to NBC News. “I think [Trump’s son-in-law] Jared Kushner — he’s Jewish, she’s Jewish — I think Jared will be upset, Ivanka [Trump] will be upset. I don’t think Trump cares.” Good luck with that.
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2024 Watch: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is up for reelection in November, is scheduled for a campaign swing in … Nevada. A rally in Las Vegas, to be exact, where he will stump for Republican Senate hopeful Adam Laxalt. This is not DeSantis’s first trip out west to support Laxalt, who is favored to win the GOP Senate nomination in Nevada in the state’s June 14 primary.
But the Florida governor’s last such trip was last summer, versus next week, which is slightly more than six months to Election Day this fall. However, DeSantis’s decision to spread his wings a little and travel outside of Florida to lend his burgeoning popularity among GOP voters to another Republican is indicative of his growing stature inside the party. DeSantis has proven quite adept as a culture warrior, among the reasons why he has become a bona fide 2024 contender, whether Trump runs or not.
Juliegrace Brufke and David Sivak contributed to this report.
