Wealthy Republican donors frightened of a socialist takeover in Washington have boosted support for House Republicans despite concerns about the party’s direction, providing a ray of hope for recapturing the majority in 2020.
Democrats scoff at House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky for insisting Democrats in Congress are a bunch of socialists led by “the squad,” four liberal firebrands in the House frequently at odds with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But the message is paying dividends, literally, with Republican donors writing five, six and seven figure checks to the party’s congressional campaign committees and affiliated super PACs.
Robust engagement by GOP financiers, hardly guaranteed with the uncertainty of President Trump’s reelection prospects and after the stinging defeat House Republicans suffered in the midterm elections, is making them optimistic about a quick rebound. After Republicans lost the House in 2006, big contributions practically dried up, a donor depression that lasted well into the 2010 cycle, when it became apparent the Democratic majority was vulnerable.
Some donors are traditional Republicans uneasy with Trump’s temperament and his populism. But the Democrats scare them much more.
“The shift among Democrats nationally, and especially in the House, to an agenda that is unlike any we have seen in America, is profound and motivating,” said Dan Conston, who oversees Congressional Leadership Fund and American Action Network, the super PAC and political nonprofit organization aligned with McCarthy.
McCarthy is rewarding the biggest contributors to House Republicans, described by one knowledgeable GOP operative as the leader’s “million-dollar donors,” with an invitation to an exclusive, mid-August retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the Washington Examiner has learned.
More than 100 of the party’s influential financiers are expected at the soiree, which according to sources briefed on the itinerary features mingling opportunities with House GOP leaders and some of the biggest players in Trump’s cabinet, as well as a series of policy panels. McCarthy is set to lead a Power Point presentation and answer questions, detailing Republican strategy for reclaiming the House after last year’s 40-seat drubbing.
The top House Republican has been hosting Republican megadonors every summer in Jackson Hole since John Boehner created the event in 2011, his first full year as speaker after the GOP won a historic majority in the previous midterm election.
While careful to give House and Senate Republican leaders credit, GOP operatives involved in fundraising say the single biggest factor in the gold rush has been what donors are witnessing in the House and the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In the House, Democrats, some of whom wear the socialist label proudly, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, have received tons of media. In the Democratic primary, multiple contenders are sparring over competing healthcare plans that would abolish private insurance and put the government in control.
“The Democratic presidential primary seems to be playing a factor in activating and exciting donors,” said Jack Pandol, a spokesman for Senate Leadership Fund. “People are genuinely afraid of the crazy ideas that seem to pop out of the contest on a weekly basis.”
“It’s clear the 2020 election will be a choice between two futures: a future of more freedom or government control,” McCarthy said in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner. “The new socialist Democrats are embracing policies that are in direct conflict with the needs and priorities of the American people.”
Individual House Republicans, and many 2020 challengers they are fielding, consistently trail Democratic incumbents in fundraising. House Democrats are accumulating unrivaled war chests as Pelosi prepares to defend the new majority in the midst of what is likely to be an acrimonious presidential election. House Democrats also maintain an edge in public opinion polls, leading the Republicans 46% to 38% on the generic ballot.
But Republicans are hopeful of a comeback, in part because, institutionally, the House GOP is holding its own in the critical chase for campaign cash.
Through the first six months of 2019, the National Republican Congressional Committee is $15.5 million off the pace it set two years ago while in the majority. The NRCC at the end of the second quarter reported $44.5 million raised. But Congressional Leadership Fund and American Action Network reported raising a combined $19.3 million, their best performance ever to begin the year preceding a presidential election.
Senate Republicans, who control a three-seat majority, also are raising money at a record clip.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee raised $34.4 million from Jan. 1 to June 30, $7.2 million more than the same period two years ago. Indeed, the NRSC drummed up $1.3 million more in the first two quarters this year than during the first six months of 2018, a midterm election year in which there was less competition with Trump for GOP contributions.
Additionally, the combined $20.5 million raised by Senate Leadership Fund and One Nation, the super PAC and political nonprofit organization respectively, that are aligned with McConnell, is a record for those organizations.
