I don’t know about you, but since the January 6th insurrection, and the demise of Trump’s presidency, I’ve been very curious to learn how fundraising has been affected.

Would Republicans who voted to overturn the election see any consequences? Would Democrats in tough races in 2022 receive a big infusion in cash even though the midterms are a ways out? How would the big party fundraising committees fare?

I’ll get into some of the details, but in a nutshell, let’s just say the money is flowing. Donors from both parties are fired up and giving a LOT of money.

Insurrection Repercussions?

It’s become clear (thanks to Judd Legum and his Popular Information newsletter) that most corporations made good on their promise to not make donations to any Republicans who voted to overturn the election. (Notable companies who broke their promise include Toyota, US Chamber of Commerce, Cigna, and JetBlue.) Astonishingly, over 1,000 corporate PACs also did not contribute to those same Republicans.

Alas, both small donors and wealthy conservative donors made up the difference for many of the politicians.

Both Ted Cruz ($3.6M) and Josh Hawley raised a lot of money, per OpenSecrets. According to Politico, the most outspoken Trump defenders also raised a lot of money, including Marjorie Taylor Greene ($3.2M), Jim Jordan ($2.1M), Matt Gaetz ($1.8M), Elise Stefanik ($1.1M), and Madison Cawthorn ($1M).

On the flip side, donors contributed heavily to those Republicans who went against the grain of their own party and criticized Trump for his behavior around the insurrection, and who impeached him. That list includes Liz Cheney ($1.5M), Adam Kinzinger ($1.1M), Jamie Herrera Beutler ($745k), and Anthony Gonzales ($616k).

Democrats Looking Good

Senators Rafael Warnock (GA) and Mark Kelly (AZ) are both looking at incredibly competitive 2022 re-elections but they also brought in a boatload of money, with Warnock bringing in $5.7M and Kelly receiving $4.4M. (source) The next two most vulnerable Democratic senators, Maggie Hassan (NH) and Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), also each brought in over $2M.

Politico noted that all four of these senators have over $4M in the bank, a feat that only 2 senators had achieved at this point in 2019.

Also noteworthy in the Senate was Chuck Schumer raising an eye-opening $8.3M.

In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi raised the most with $4M. She has already moved $895k of that to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), $500k to the House Democrats super PAC, $125k to the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, and $85k to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

The DCCC raised a total of $34.1M in the first quarter, which is a record for them in a “nonelection” year. In comparison, the Republicans’ House committee raised $33.7M.

In Conclusion

I’m heartened to hear that donors large and small are giving heavily to the Democrats. That makes me think folks are still paying attention and hungry to stay in power — which is a really good thing considering so many of us fell asleep at the wheel when President Obama was first elected.

But, we can’t ignore that Republican donors are raising a ton of money for their caucus too, despite not being able to count on corporate money like they used to in the past.

So, if you can, I encourage you to make a donation, or set up monthly donations, to those Senators and Representatives you most want to protect in Congress!

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Categories: Uncategorized

Tags: 2022 Midterms, 2022 Senate, Citizens United, Explainers, featured, money in politics, Take Action