In this March 3, 2016 file photo, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, then the Michigan Republican Party chair, speaks before a Republican presidential primary debate in Detroit. (Photo: AP)
The numbers for October are in, and the Republican National Committee (RNC) continued to stop the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in fundraising for October. The RNC announced this week it raised $9.2 million in October, a fundraising haul more than double the $3.9 million posted by the DNC.
Republicans have significantly outpaced Democrats in fundraising for the first time in a non-presidential cycle in 2017. With the fundraising haul in October, the RNC has raised a total $113.2 million this year juxtaposed to just $55 million for the DNC.
“Another month of strong fundraising shows great enthusiasm among voters for President Trump and his agenda,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in an emailed statement. “That’s why we need to continue to work hard to support his vision for the American people, including tax cuts for the middle-class.”
The DNC was run into the ground financially by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was ousted during the 2016 Democratic National Convention. WikiLeaks revealed she had steered the DNC in favor of Hillary Clinton, who assumed control of the finances even as longtime ally Donna Brazile took over as interim chair.
The new team promised to improve Democrats’ fortunes.
“Well, I got there on March 1,” DNC Chair Tom Perez said in June when confronted with anemic fundraising numbers for that quarter. In August, Deputy Chair Keith Ellison, D-Minn., promised he would have “some really good reports to share in the weeks to come.”
But thus far, those promises have gone unfulfilled. The RNC has a total $42.5 million cash on hand, nearly 25 times more than the $5 million posted by the DNC. Under Chairwomen McDaniel, the RNC is debt-free, while the DNC has $3.2 million in debt.
| Party | October | Year-To-Date | Cash on Hand | Debt |
| RNC | $9.2M | $113.2M | $42.5M | $0 |
| DNC | $3.9M | $55.0M | $5.0M | $3.2M |
Democrats are quick to point to the recent electoral victories in Virginia and other states. But as People’s Pundit Daily (PPD) has repeatedly reported, our likely voter battleground metrics show the Old Dominion should be renamed the New Dominion. It’s the one and only battleground state where Democrats have made relative gains in key indicators such as party affiliation and ideological lean.
Chairman Perez and others also often claim that Democratic candidates are out-fundraising Republican candidates, $221 million to $206 million. However, if you drill down into the numbers, $31 million of the total House Democrat haul came from Jon Ossoff, who ran a failed and outrageously expensive race against now-Representative Karen Handel in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.
Only 14% of Mr. Ossoff’s haul came from in-state individual donations. He significantly out-fundraised Rep. Handel, who ended up winning by a rather comfortable margin. House Democrats and House Republican candidates have roughly the same cash on hand, $205 million to $204 million.
Meanwhile, nearly 60% of what the RNC has raised in direct contributions has come from small donations under $200, a major change for the GOP indicative of the populist appeal both President Donald Trump and Chairwoman McDaniel have brought to the party.
“This wide ranging small donor support is about one thing and one thing only,” said RNC Finance Chairman Steve Wynn. “The Republican Party stands for more jobs and keeping more of your paycheck. The jobs and the paycheck are what matter and that’s what we are about. That’s why we are getting the support and why we’re going to continue to win.”
