The Republican Party's finances are heightening concerns amid party members, advisors to Donald Trump and other operatives involved in the 2024 election effort, 10 people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. The Republican National Committee revealed that, as of Oct. 30, it had $9.1 million in cash on hand, the lowest amount its recorded in any Federal Election Commission report since February 2015. At the same point in the 2016 and 2020 election cycles, the RNC had about $20 million and $61 million, respectively. In contrast, the Democratic National Committee reported having $17.7 million as of Oct. 30.
“It’s a revenue problem,” Tennessee RNC member Oscar Brock told the Post. “We’re going through the same efforts we always go through to raise money: the same donor meetings, retreats, digital advertising, direct mail. But the return is much lower this year. If you know the answer, I’d love to know it. The staff has managed to tighten down on expenses to keep the party from going into the red.” RNC donor support has dwindled in recent years while the party's small-dollar program has also taken a hit, sources told the outlet. Some donors aren't giving money to the RNC because they believe doing so will aid Trump, the sources added, while others said they prefer to wait until 2024 to make a donation. Some have also grown frustrated by party leadership, sources close to major donors said.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told the Post that donors are more focused on supporting individual candidates during the primary and predicted that the party's finances will improve once there's a nominee. “There’s nothing unusual about this, because they know that once their candidate gets in that we will merge and that we’ll be working together to win the White House,” McDaniel said.
