The Republican National Committee (RNC) has the smallest amount of cash on hand that it has had in almost a decade, according to recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings.
End-of-year 2023 FEC filings show that the RNC has about $8 million cash on hand. The number is the lowest it has been since 2014, when the RNC had about $5 million cash on hand, FEC filings from the year show. Party members expressed concern over the party’s finances in November 2023 after the RNC had previously disclosed it had $9.1 million cash on hand as of Oct. 30, 2023, The Washington Post reported.
“It’s a revenue problem,” Oscar Brock, a national RNC member from Tennessee, told The Washington Post. “We’re going through the same efforts we always go through to raise money: the same donor meetings, retreats, digital advertising, direct mail. But the return is much lower this year. If you know the answer, I’d love to know it. The staff has managed to tighten down on expenses to keep the party from going into the red.”
Wow — Republican National Committee has only $8m cash in hand, per year-end FEC filing. That’s the lowest fundraising year since 2013
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) February 1, 2024
The RNC’s amount of cash on hand has rapidly declined following former President Donald Trump’s administration. In 2015, just ahead of a presidential election year, the RNC had about $18.7 million cash on hand, FEC filings show. In 2019, the RNC had more than $71 million cash on hand.
At the end of 2022, the party had $14.3 million cash on hand, FEC filings show.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has $21 million cash on hand, according to 2023 end-of-the-year FEC filings.
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel speaks prior to the second Republican presidential primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on September 27, 2023. (Photo by Robyn BECK / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
While party members voiced concerns about the RNC’s finances, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told The Washington Post in November donors are focused on funding individual candidates during election season. McDaniel said she expects the RNC’s finances to improve once a presidential nominee is picked. (RELATED: ‘I’m Sure She’s A Nice Lady’: RNC Scrambles To Defense Of Ronna McDaniel After Viral Vivek Call-Out)
“I think there’s more donors just fully committed to their candidate right now, saying I am all in, and once the nominee is set, I’ll be there. That’s what I hear more than anything. And they’re really solidly in the camps of their candidate, which is normal,” McDaniel told the outlet. “There’s nothing unusual about this, because they know that once their candidate gets in that we will merge and that we’ll be working together to win the White House.”