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The Republican National Committee (RNC) is struggling to raise available cash, posing a potential headache for House Speaker Mike Johnson ahead of the 2024 elections. The new GOP speaker has come in for criticism, but the deeper issue may be at the top of the ticket: Donald Trump.

According to recent filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the RNC has just under $10 million in available cash in hand as of November 2023, nearly half of the $21 million they had in cash in November 2016 amid Trump's first run for the White House.

The RNC, the political organization that oversees the running of the Republican Party, is not under Johnson's control: the Speaker's fundraising focus is on the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) which is devoted to increasing the number of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Still, there were concerns about whether Johnson, a relatively unknown Louisiana congressman before he was elected speaker, would be as influential a fundraising figure for the party as his predecessor Kevin McCarthy, or the powerhouse that Nancy Pelosi was in raising money for Democrats.

"Losing McCarthy is obviously a setback for our fundraising; it's like losing a hall of famer in that category," New York Congressman Nick LaLota, a Republican, told Politico in November. "But there are multiple all-stars looking to step up."

As noted by campaign finance expert Rob Pyers, research director for the non-partisan election guide California Target Book, the RNC's cash in hand is also significantly down from the previous end-of-year amounts in 2021, 2020 and 2019 ($65 million, $58 million and $63 million respectively.)

This is not the first time the RNC has reported low financial records, with previous filings in October saying it had $9.1 million cash on hand, the lowest FEC figure for the RNC since February 2015.

These figures have also coincided with Johnson taking over as leader of the House from ousted Speaker McCarthy, a fundraising juggernaut praised for helping the GOP retake control of the lower chamber in the 2022 midterms.

An October New York Times report said that in 2023, McCarthy had raised $78 million in political donations, compared to the approximate $608,000 Johnson raised as a congressman that year. During Johnson's 7-year congressional career, the Louisiana Republican raised a total of $6.1 million, a figure The New York Times reported was less than McCarthy's average monthly take in 2023.

In December 2022,The Wall Street Journal said the $260 million that McCarthy raised for his Congressional Leadership Fund PAC was "critical" to the GOP as it won crucial victories in states such as New York, California, and Oregon on its way to winning majority control in the House in the November 2022 elections.

Speaking to the New York Times after Johnson assumed the Speakership, Tom Reynolds, a former New York congressman and past chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said: "Mike Johnson is not known to be a prolific fund-raiser. He's raised money to meet his needs in a noncompetitive seat in Louisiana.

"It remains to be seen: Can he raise money to help the members when it comes time next year?"

While the RNC has seen its available cash fall, the NRCC has prospered under Johnson.

On December 12 the NRCC announced that it broke its fundraising record for an off-year November, bringing in $9 million. This was higher than the previous record of $7.2 million raised in 2021.

NRCC Chair Richard Hudson said: "House Republicans stepped up to the plate and helped the Committee hit a fundraising grand slam—led by Speaker Johnson and our incredible leadership team.

"With partners like this and an incredible political environment, extreme House Democrats should dread yet another cycle in the minority."

In the days after Johnson became speaker, the NRCC also reported a Friday haul of $175,000 for online fundraising, the highest daily figure since February 2022.

Just a day later, the NRCC said donations had outpaced Friday, setting a new record for the 2024 cycle.

The Congressional Leadership Fund and its nonprofit affiliate the American Action Network also raised $16 million in the 10 days after Johnson endorsed the PAC, according to the Washington Examiner.

In a statement to Newsweek, Greg Steele, Johnson's political communications director, said: "Speaker Johnson has already led Republicans to break fundraising records and is working to grow the majority in 2024."

Grant Reeher, a professor of political science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said that the issues surrounding Trump may be the main reason for the RNC's struggle to raise cash.

"I have to believe that most of this dynamic is being driven by the former president's fortunes, and some turning away by the larger 'establishment' donors as Trump's legal problems continue to mount, not to mention being taken off the primary ballot in Colorado," Grant told Newsweek.

"I would think that most observers would peg the fundraising problem to the top of the ticket versus the ability of any speaker at the moment to leverage funds. Having said that, lower numbers on his watch could add fuel to future criticisms or even efforts to replace him."

The Democratic National Committee reported it had $20 million cash on hand by the end of November, the highest-ever figure heading into an election year. In a statement, the DNC said the RNC "only has itself to blame" for its lower contributions as the party seeks to reenter the White House, hold onto the House, and retake control of the Senate in 2024.

"While the GOP lights money on fire fighting among themselves, Democrats are unified and making the early investments we need to send President Biden and Vice President Harris back to the White House in 2024," said DNC national press secretary Sarafina Chitika.

In response, an RNC spokesperson said the Democrats are "lighting money on fire with tone-deaf ads that are failing to cover for [President Joe] Biden's record of failure or boost his abysmal approval ratings. By the time they decide to actually talk to voters, it will be too little, too late."

Update 12/24/2023 11:19 a.m. ET: This article was updated clarify differences between the RNC and NRCC, and include information on NRCC fundraising since Mike Johnson took office.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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