WASHINGTON _ Democrats have long touted the importance of raising small amounts of money from a large number of donors as a sign of political strength on the campaign trail and in Congress.
But recent campaign finance disclosures show some lawmakers _ both Democrats and Republicans _ raised next to no money from so-called small donors in the first three months of this year for their campaign accounts. The names of contributors giving less than $200 in the aggregate do not have to be disclosed in reports to the Federal Election Commission, but the total received from all those "unitemized" contributions is disclosed.
Democrats used small donors in the 2018 cycle to outraise their Republican counterparts, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And the ability to get at least 65,000 different donors is being used this year as an entry test for the first televised Democratic presidential debates.
But some Democrats and Republicans who raised more than $100,000 during the first quarter got less than $400 of it from donors giving $200 or less.
For example, just $185 of the roughly $652,000 that House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer raised for his reelection fund from January through March came from unitemized contributions.
The Maryland Democrat, who holds a safe blue seat, has received diminishing amounts from small-dollar donors for the last few cycles. In the first quarter of 2017, he raised $715 in unitemized contributions. Two years earlier, in 2015, it was $443.
That's a contrast to back in 1998, when more than 20% of funds to Hoyer's campaign committee came from small donations.
"It's been dropping, which follows, perhaps, since he has been in a safe seat, and become a senior party leader over the years," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "And so maybe small donors have dropped as his seat security, and his stature, has risen."
Hoyer's office said he fundraises both through his campaign committee and Ameripac, a leadership PAC that raises money to support other Democratic candidates.
"The majority of his grassroots fundraising is done through Ameripac," Hoyer spokeswoman Mariel Saez said. She said that 37% of Ameripac's contributions this cycle have been from small donors.
"Last cycle, 29% of his Ameripac fundraising came from unitemized contributions, if you do not include a pass-through fundraising program that Mr. Hoyer set up to bundle contributions for candidates in the most competitive districts," she said. "In total, he had over 33,600 unique low donor grassroots donors to Ameripac."
In the first quarter of 2019, Ameripac raised $519,000 and contributed $255,000 to other committees, according to FEC records.
"He recognizes the importance of small donor contributions and will continue to work to fundraise to ensure House Democrats have all of the necessary resources to win in 2020," she said.
Other House members who took in some of the highest overall receipts, but received less than $400 in unitemized contributions, were Democrats Henry Cuellar of Texas and David Trone of Maryland. Republicans French Hill of Arkansas, Sam Graves of Missouri and Bob Gibbs of Ohio collected $10, $100 and $25, respectively, in unitemized contributions.
Florida Republican Rep. Ross Spano collected just $1 in small donations in the first quarter of the year _ the lowest for a House member.
"The $1 donation was a test to ensure our systems were working post-swearing in," said Spano spokeswoman Sandi Poreda in an email. "Obviously, grassroots support is a critical component to a successful campaign; it was a significant factor with his first victory and we're excited to see these efforts pick back up as we get further into the election cycle."
Trone, who won his first term in 2018, spent $17.9 million of his own money on the race. In the first quarter of 2019, he contributed another $350,000 to his campaign, and received $75 from small donors.
Cuellar, Trone, Hill and Gibbs did not respond to requests for comment.
Getting small donations, and refusing corporate PAC money, have increasingly been touted by candidates as a sign of independence from special interests, especially those who won in 2018 with strong grassroots support.
Not all candidates decide to focus a campaign message that reaches out to grassroots supporters and small donors, because it can be challenging and expensive, according to Democratic campaign consultant Michael J. Fraioli.
"Candidates have to invest heavily on the front end to build up the digital or low-donor fundraising efforts," Fraioli said.
An analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics found that House Democrats' use of small donors in 2018 helped them outraise Republicans by $300 million.
One candidate who helped fuel that trend was Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat who in last year's primary upset Rep. Joe Crowley, the House Democrats' third-highest-ranking leader. In the first three months of this year, Ocasio-Cortez raised 81% of her roughly $728,000 in small-dollar donations.
Crowley, in contrast, raised less than 1% of his funds from small donors in the 2017-18 election cycle.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has sent a series of press releases criticizing the National Republican Congressional Committee's "small dollar donor struggles," and touting its candidates' ability to raise money from the grassroots.
Having a large number of unitemized contributions can signal outreach to small donors and at least some grassroots support, said Rick Hasen, a professor of law and political science at the University of California at Irvine and an expert in election and campaign finance law.
Hasen downplayed the importance of the small donation indicator, saying he doesn't think "it shows all that much."
"It is not surprising that safer incumbents might feel less of a need for this kind of outreach for their individual campaigns," he said in an email. "Some of these might help fundraise for those small donors via DCCC or other organizations."
It is also a possibility that candidates are still reaching out to a broad number of constituents and aren't getting donations from them.
But some say it can raise eyebrows when candidates have such low unitemized donation totals.
"I think it's fair to say, it's pretty surprising," Krumholz, said. "Given that they're raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, that these members are receiving such paltry sums from donors of small amounts."
In the first quarter of 2019, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's campaign committee raised about 20% of its more than $1.3 million from unitemized individual contributors.
It's easier to raise money more efficiently by reaching out to those with the deepest pockets. But some say it's healthier for campaigns to show that they are reaching out to a broad spectrum of constituents and donors, including those who don't have the means to give the maximum individual contribution of $2,800.
"It's healthier because it shows they are not just catering to one class of people. And that they are seeking to represent all of their constituents," Krumholz said.
