It’s a reflex
Running for U.S. Senate is a pricey proposition. Candidates spent on average over $10 million a decade ago and nearly double that by 2016. The Citizens United decision means outside groups now pour in even more than candidates. With Democrats outraising Republicans in the Trump era, the GOP more than ever is looking to oligarchs for candidates who can self-fund (Politico):
Both parties have relied on self-funders before. But this approach has taken on increasing importance for Republicans because they failed to counter Democrats’ massive grassroots fundraising in Senate races during the past two cycles. In 2022 alone, Democratic nominees outraised Republicans by $288 million in the six closest Senate races.
The strategy is also an acknowledgment that the party’s reliance on super PACs funded by its richest supporters has been insufficient. In the last two elections, Republicans were unsuccessful in stopping Democrats from nabbing a narrow majority in the upper chamber. Arming themselves with better-funded recruits, many of whom can give their campaigns tens of millions of dollars, could help them finally net the two seats needed to reclaim the gavel.
Potential self-funders for this cycle include: Tim Sheehy, the Montana founder of an aerospace company, Eric Hovde, a real estate executive in Wisconsin, and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a coal mining magnate.
National Republican Senatorial Committee chair, Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, is looking to candidates either extraordinarily good at fundraising or else swimming in their own cash.
Hovde is considering a run against Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and could spend into eight figures doing it, Politico reports.
Hovde, who made a failed Senate bid in 2012, also decided against a governor bid in 2022. This time he seems more likely to enter the fray. He has spoken with NRSC officials and has begun engaging potential staff.
“He’s thought about running for all kinds of offices,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), when asked about Hovde.
A U.S. Senate seat is just the fashion accessory for the man who can drop $6 million of his own cash on a Senate race (2012). Or, alternately, on “running for all kinds of offices.” The NRSC is recruiting others like him.
Republican super PACs consistently outraise their Democratic counterparts, especially on the Senate side. But Democrats’ candidate fundraising boom is still a major headache because candidates purchase TV ads at a discounted rate. Their money goes much farther in the final stretch of the campaign when both sides pummel the air waves.
“Republicans face an existential crisis that won’t be solved overnight, but we still need to figure out how to mitigate the damage in the short term,” said Kevin McLaughlin, the executive director of the NRSC in 2020. “Recruiting strong candidates who can both self-fund and win general elections is a great first step.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) set a self-funding record in 2018 when he dropped $60 million of his own cash to defeat Democrat Bill Nelson.
As I’ve said, the GOP does not want to govern. It wants to rule. So it is unsurprising that the NRSC focuses its recruiting on candidates who fit the profile. Seeing government of the people dominated by the ruling class is nothing new. But it may contribute to Americans’ widespread feelings of non-belonging.
The irony of Donald Trump’s popularity with his MAGA base is how his near-genetic sense of grievance heightens their sense of not belonging. He skillfully redirects their anger at “party, race, class, geography, sexual orientation and gender” without drawing so much attention to his class.
It would be cheaper just to drop $25,000 on another passport from another country. Hell, it might be cheaper in some places to buy a kingship and get it over with.