A4 The BulleTin • Sunday, april 18, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. | CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING
After Jan. 6 riot, small donors step up for GOP
BY KATE ACKLEY, BRIDGET
BOWMAN, AND HERB JACKSON
CQ-Roll Call (TNS)
WASHINGTON — In-
dustry PAC contributions to
House Republicans who voted
against certifying Electoral
College results in January fell
during the first quarter of the
year, but many made up for it
with an influx of contributions
from small donors.
Meanwhile, Republicans
who voted to impeach Presi-
dent Donald Trump for incit-
ing insurrection also saw their
fundraising grow, including
from PACs, as they prepared
for primary challenges.
Political action committees
of many companies and lob-
bying groups said they would
pause some or all contribu-
tions after rioters broke into
the Capitol on Jan. 6 to stop
Congress from certifying Joe
Biden’s 2020 presidential win.
New campaign finance dis-
closures show House mem-
bers who objected to Biden’s
electoral votes from two states
raised $52,000 less from PACs,
on average, than they did
during the same period two
years ago, according to a CQ
Roll Call analysis of first-quar-
ter filings with the Federal
Election Commission.
At the same time, donors
giving small sums, less than
$200 a pop, gave such mem-
bers an average $56,000 more
than in the previous period
two years ago. Republicans in
2019 were also racing to catch
up with Democrats in devel-
oping a system to attract dona-
tions of $5 or $10 in response
to email solicitations, a grass-
roots source of support that
Donald Trump capitalized on
in his 2016 election.
Of the 139 House members
who voted against certifying
electoral votes, the analysis
looked at the 103 who were
serving in 2019 and could
provide a point of comparison
to the same point in the elec-
More news from D.C.
‘ANGLO-SAXON’ CAUCUS: Hard-right House Republicans are dis-
cussing forming an America First Caucus, which one document de-
scribed as championing “Anglo-Saxon political traditions” and warn-
ing that mass immigration was putting the “unique identity” of the
U.S. at risk. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the paper. The AP
could not independently confirm the organization’s origins or current
status, but Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said he was joining and indicated
that fellow conservative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was be-
hind it. The document was being circulated as the GOP is struggling
to determine a clear direction as it prepares to try winning back con-
trol of the House and Senate in the 2022 elections. The group calls
for limiting legal immigration “to those that can contribute not only
economically, but have demonstrated respect for this nation’s culture
and rule of law.” It voices support for infrastructure “that reflects the
architectural, engineering and aesthetic value that befits the progeny
of European architecture.”
PUSHBACK: In a striking criticism, House Minority Leader Kevin Mc-
Carthy, R-Calif., issued a tweet that an aide confirmed was aimed at
the group. “America is built on the idea that we are all created equal
and success is earned through honest, hard work. It isn’t built on iden-
tity, race, or religion,” McCarthy wrote. “The Republican Party is the
party of Lincoln & the party of more opportunity for all Americans —
not nativist dog whistles.”
John Minchillo/AP file
People storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The riot has changed how national Republican candidates are receiv-
ing campaign funds, at least in the short term.
tion cycle.
All told, the average law-
maker in the group took in
$254,000 during the first three
months of this year, compared
with $226,000 in 2019.
The eight Republican sena-
tors who objected to the Elec-
toral College results raised, on
average, $1.1 million in this
year’s first quarter.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz led the
pack with a $3.6 million haul,
including $2.4 million in do-
nations under $200. Missouri
Sen. Josh Hawley, one of the
lead objectors, raised $3 mil-
lion in the first quarter, includ-
ing $1.7 million in small do-
nations.
“They tried to use corporate
America’s economic strangle-
hold to starve me of financial
support. They proclaimed me
dead in the water; that the long
list of corporations rescinding
financial support would be my
downfall,” Hawley wrote in an
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz led the
pack with a $3.6 million
haul, including $2.4 million
in donations under $200.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley,
one of the lead objectors,
raised $3 million in the
first quarter, including $1.7
million in small donations.
email to his supporters this
week.
Seven GOP senators voted
in February to convict Trump
after his impeachment. Two of
them are retiring. The remain-
ing five senators, on average,
raised $206,000 in the first
quarter. At first glance that’s
a small sum for a senator, but
only one of the five, Alaska’s
Lisa Murkowski, is up for re-
election next year.
Among House Republicans
who voted against certifying
the electoral results, there were
sharp variations within the
group.
Some well-known members
raised significantly more than
in 2019 — Ohio Rep. Jim Jor-
dan’s total collections were $1.8
million higher, Florida Rep.
Matt Gaetz’s rose $1.6 million,
and New York Rep. Elise Ste-
fanik’s grew by $753,000.
At the same time, 58 mem-
bers raised less money than
they did in the comparable pe-
riod, with the average decline
about $101,000.
It’s not just FEC data that
show top House Republicans
among the 139 are keeping
their fundraising operations
closely aligned with the former
president, who himself was a
magnet for small donations.
House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy, for one, sent
CAPITOL RIOT UPDATE: A member of the far-right Oath Keepers
militia group and heavy metal guitarist on Friday became the first de-
fendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the in-
surrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jon Ryan Schaffer has agreed to cooper-
ate with investigators in hopes of getting a lighter sentence, and the
Justice Department will consider putting Schaffer in the federal wit-
ness security program, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said. This sig-
nals that federal prosecutors see him as a valuable cooperator as they
continue to investigate militia groups and other extremists involved
in the insurrection on Jan. 6 as Congress was meeting to certify Presi-
dent Joe Biden’s electoral win.
— Associated Press
a solicitation Thursday, lead-
ing with the tidbit that he “was
recently at Mar-a-Lago with
President Trump.”
“I want President Trump to
see that YOU gave $25 or more
to show your dedicated sup-
port,” he added.
On the other side, the 10
House Republicans who voted
to impeach Trump on charges
of inciting an insurrection hav-
en’t had trouble raising money.
Of the 10, eight were in Con-
gress two years earlier and all
raised more in this year’s first
quarter than they did in 2019’s.
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney,
who survived an attempt to
remove her from House lead-
ership but remains a target of
Trump’s email missives and
criticism in speeches, led the
group by raising $1.5 million,
including $301,000 from PACs
and $167,000 from donors giv-
ing less than $200.Also seeing
a steep increase among this
group was Illinois Rep. Adam
Kinzinger, who raised $1.1 mil-
lion, up from $326,000 in 2019.
“I think what the first quar-
ter showed, with me, with Liz
(Cheney), frankly, the others
that voted to impeach, is that
there’s a constituency that sup-
ports doing the right thing,”
Kinzinger said in an interview
Friday. “This is about a fight
for the soul of the party.”