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“GOP Pays the Price for Booting Kevin McCarthy” [Daily Beast]

“The clear downgrade in fundraising capacity from McCarthy to Johnson could have potentially catastrophic effects for the House GOP as it seeks to defend its razor-thin majority this year.”

Speaker Mike Johnson is proving unable to help his most vulnerable members as more and more GOP donors across the nation believe that Republicans will lose the House majority, according to a new analysis from the Daily Beast.

“Where McCarthy distributed upwards of $400,000 to some of those members last year, Johnson has given many of them just a fraction of that,” the Daily Beast writes.

On average by quarter, the transfers made by McCarthy far outpace those from Speaker Johnson:

  • Whereas McCarthy directed an average of $145,000 to Juan Ciscomani, Speaker Johnson only sent less than $14,000 per quarter.

  • Whereas McCarthy directed an average of $193,000 to Marc Molinaro, Speaker Johnson only sent about $28,000 per quarter. 

  • Whereas McCarthy directed an average of $147,000 to Michelle Steel, Speaker Johnson only sent $17,000 per quarter. 

REMINDER: According to Axios, after the first quarter of the election year, House Democrats and Democratic candidates are dominating Republicans in fundraising across the country. The DCCC is also outpacing the NRCC – holding over $15 million more cash on hand.

DCCC Spokesperson Viet Shelton:
“Donors are making clear what the American public already knows: House Republicans are not worth the investment.”

Daily Beast: GOP Pays the Price for Booting Kevin McCarthy
Mini Racker | May 7, 2024

  • Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed at many things: building unity in his conference, making deals across the aisle, and, obviously, fending off the revolt that made him a former speaker.

  • In one crucial area, however, McCarthy was a legendary success: raising money. […]

  • [W]hat’s painfully clear already is that the GOP got a leader [in Johnson] with far less skill in scaring up valuable campaign dough.

  • According to federal campaign finance records, Johnson still has yet to match his predecessor’s fundraising success, specifically when it comes to boosting the most vulnerable incumbent Republicans.

  • McCarthy outraised Johnson on behalf of at-risk Republicans several times over, according to a Daily Beast analysis of the two men’s various campaign, joint fundraising, and leadership committees.

  • That discrepancy is most starkly reflected in the fundraising for members of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Patriot Program—incumbents the GOP has deemed most vulnerable, especially ones running in districts President Joe Biden won in 2020.

  • Where McCarthy distributed upwards of $400,000 to some of those members last year, Johnson has given many of them just a fraction of that.

  • Take Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), a freshman in a battleground district. Campaign finance data indicates he brought in roughly $459,000 from the various committees associated with McCarthy this cycle. Over the first three quarters of last year—the bulk of McCarthy’s time as speaker—the California Republican directed an average $145,000 per quarter to Ciscomani.

  • Compare that to the most recent two quarters under Johnson, whose average quarterly transfer to the Arizona Republican works out to just under $14,000.

  • Meanwhile, Federal Election Commission data indicates Johnson has distributed just over $28,000 to Ciscomani this cycle—about $16,000 through his joint fundraising committee, Grow the Majority; $10,000 through his leadership committee, American Revival PAC; and $2,000 through his campaign account.

  • It’s a similar story when it comes to Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY), another freshman in a battleground district. McCarthy steered an average of $193,000 over the first three quarters of last year. Johnson’s quarterly fundraising average for Molinaro is about $28,000.

  • The clear downgrade in fundraising capacity from McCarthy to Johnson could have potentially catastrophic effects for the House GOP as it seeks to defend its razor-thin majority this year.

  • The Trump-dominated Republican Party is already contending with a financial and leadership crisis that has signaled potential fallout for vulnerable congressional candidates. Where those candidates could previously depend on significant support from McCarthy, the late-game switch to Johnson knocked yet another fundraising leg out from underneath them.

  • But with just six months to go before the election, House Republicans may struggle to hold their majority unless he catches up quickly.

  • As Republicans told The Daily Beast, the dollars provided by their speaker are incredibly valuable in an election year like 2024.

  • Previously this cycle, McCarthy directed boatloads of cash to vulnerable California members, like Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA), who represents a plurality Asian American district in Orange County. In the first three quarters of last year, Steel received an average of $147,000 from McCarthy each quarter; Johnson’s quarterly average as speaker is only $17,000.

  • But Ciscomani, Molinaro, and Steel are lucky Johnson is helping them as much as he is. Though the speaker has dutifully doled out cash to the NRCC’s Patriots, he has given only a token amount to other Republicans on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s target list—as little as $1,000 each. McCarthy, meanwhile, had given these candidates much more; sometimes, over 100 times more. […]

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