I wonder why?
Online fund-raising has slowed across much of the Republican Party in recent months, an unusual pullback of small donors that has set off a mad rush among Republican political operatives to understand why — and reverse the sudden decline before it damages the party’s chances this fall.
Small-dollar donations typically increase as an election nears. But just the opposite has happened in recent months across a wide range of Republican entities, including every major party committee and former President Donald J. Trump’s political operation.
The total amount donated online fell by more than 12 percent across all federal Republican campaigns and committees in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, according to an analysis of federal records from WinRed, the main online Republican donation-processing portal.
More alarming for Republicans: Democratic contributions surged at the same time. Total federal donations on ActBlue, the Democratic counterpart, jumped by more than 21 percent.
The overall Democratic fund-raising edge online widened by $100 million from the last quarter of 2021 to the most recent three-month period, records show.
Exacerbating the fund-raising problems for Republicans is that Mr. Trump continues to be the party’s dominant fund-raiser and yet virtually none of the tens of millions of dollars he has raised has gone toward defeating Democrats. Instead, the money has funded his political team and retribution agenda against Republicans who have crossed him.
Even Trump’s fundraising is down. Is it possible that the Republicans are getting tired? I don’t know. Polling suggests that they are enthusiastic and ready to vote but that usually goes hand in hand with donating money. You can be sure they’re being hit up constantly. It’s very interesting.
The bad news is that all the rich assholes who have always funded the Republicans are writing big checks so they won’t be starved for cash. But small donor enthusiasm has been a pretty reliable indication of enthusiasm for some years now and it’s the Democrats who are putting their money where their hopes are. Stay tuned.