EXCLUSIVE— The Republican National Committee raised $16.4 million in January and has more than $100 million cash on hand, according to figures obtained by the Washington Examiner.
The RNC had $101.9 million on hand as of Jan. 31, a record for a midterm year. The committee ended 2025 with $95 million cash on hand and no debt.
“The RNC is building the war chest that Republicans will need this year to keep our majorities in Congress,” said RNC chairman Joe Gruters in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “This is just the start.”
The war chest will help the GOP retain control of both chambers in this year’s midterm elections. A super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump is also sitting on more than $300 million that could be used to bolster Republicans in what is expected to be a tough political cycle.
“We know that Democrats will have a flood of money later this year for their far-Left, extreme candidates, so we’re not going to stop,” said Gruters. “We are preparing the resources we need to make smart, targeted investments to support Republican candidates and defy history this fall.”
The RNC only spent $9.6 million in January, below the money the committee has spent at this period in past midterm cycles. By this time in 2022, the RNC had spent $17.6 million; in 2018, $10.4 million; and in 2014, $7.1 million.
The January figures suggest that the fundraising momentum ushered in by Trump will continue and is outpacing previous non-presidential-year cycles. The RNC has never before started a midterm election year with $100 million in cash on hand.
The RNC, for instance, raised only $13.7 million in January 2022, despite Joe Biden’s low approval ratings and talk of a coming red wave. At the time, the committee only had $51.7 million in cash on hand.
Gruters said part of the difference between 2022 and 2026 was the strong pull of Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who is also the RNC’s finance chairman. Vance is aggressively helping the group to raise millions of dollars before the midterm elections and will continue to do so through the fall.
VANCE FLEXES ENDORSEMENT MUSCLE AND FUNDRAISING PROWESS AHEAD OF MIDTERM ELECTIONS
The Democratic National Committee raised nearly $145.8 million in 2025. It ended the year with only $14 million in the bank, however, and $17.5 million in debt. Despite the advantage, the RNC is expecting the fundraising gap to narrow.
Democratic strategists previously told the Washington Examiner they are betting on an affordability message to help them boost fundraising and take control of Congress.
