By Jeremiah Poff. Media: Washingtonexaminer
If there were any concerns that former President Donald Trump has lost his ability to raise money, the latest fundraising data from the campaign and the Republican National Committee should put that to rest.
On Wednesday, the Trump campaign and the RNC announced that they had raised $65 million during the month of March and had also finished the month with more than $93 million in cash on hand.
The latest fundraising numbers are a marked improvement from the end of February, when the RNC had $11 million in cash on hand and the Trump campaign had $33 million. In one month, Trump and the RNC more than doubled their cash on hand.
While Trump and the RNC still trail President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee when it comes to fundraising and cash on hand, the latest fundraising numbers are an encouraging sign that the lackluster fundraising from recent months was a product of circumstances, not of donor apathy.
There are arguably two primary reasons for the massive increase in fundraising over the past 30 days. Firstly, Trump has secured the requisite number of delegates to win the Republican nomination at the party’s convention in July. And second, a much needed leadership shake-up took place at the RNC when longtime Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel ceded her post to new Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chairwoman Lara Trump.
Fundraising had stagnated under McDaniel, and the leadership change is likely a big part of why the party has started raising money at a rapid clip.
As I have argued before, there is reason to believe that money won’t change that many voters’ minds in the 2024 presidential election, given how both candidates are known commodities. But that doesn’t mean that fundraising and spending will not be an important part of the campaign. Funds must be used to activate voters and engage with them.
As the Trump campaign and the RNC look to fill their coffers even more, they should use their latest cash windfall to create the largest get-out-the-vote effort in the history of the United States. With polls showing a slight Trump advantage in the general election and Republicans with a strong chance of flipping control of the Senate, turning out Republican sympathetic voters, many of whom are low propensity, will be a crucial part of the RNC and the Trump campaign’s winning strategy.
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