Scalise highlights fundraising prowess in pitch for speakership

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) sent a letter to donors and supporters Friday morning touting his ability to fundraise as he attempts to separate himself from his rivals in a speaker election scheduled for next week.

In the letter, Scalise cited the $150 million raised throughout his tenure to help Republicans win elections, with roughly $60 million of that transferred to the National Republican Congressional Committee and another $13 million directly to GOP candidates. Fundraising strength is likely to play a major role in the leadership election, especially as former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was known for his ability to pull in millions of dollars every quarter.

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“Majority Leader Steve Scalise has been a fundraising powerhouse for House Republicans since he first came to Congress, building a political machine that has successfully helped elect Republicans across the country and deliver conservative policy wins for America,” the letter reads.

Scalise is one of two declared candidates to succeed McCarthy as House speaker, along with Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH). Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) is also expected to launch a bid in the coming days.

Shortly after McCarthy’s ouster, several GOP leaders wondered aloud how the party would move on from the California Republican’s leadership, specifically noting his work traveling across the country to campaign on other candidates’ behalf.

“I’ve worked with Kevin McCarthy the past four years. You don’t get the House without Kevin McCarthy, with the recruitment that he did, with the record number of women and minority members serving in Congress,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Fox News. “It takes a lot of flying and a lot of fundraising and a lot of grit to do what he did to get us the House back, and I’m very sad on a personal level for my friend, Kevin McCarthy.”

McCarthy himself acknowledged his fundraising strength as a loss for House Republicans in the wake of his removal, citing it as a reason Democrats didn’t step in to save his speakership.

“I heard what they said in conference. Why would they vote for me if I’ve won every time as leader? I raised 70% of all the money. It’s an opportunity for them,” McCarthy said during his farewell speech on Tuesday.

During the last midterm election cycle, McCarthy raised a combined $34.5 million across his personal campaign committee, the Majority Committee, and his leadership PAC, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets. Comparatively, Scalise raised $21.6 million from his campaign committee and the Eye of the Tiger PAC.

Meanwhile, Jordan managed to raise nearly $14 million through his personal campaign committee and $126,000 through his Buckeye Liberty PAC. He also had a role in raising $2.9 million to go toward the main fundraising arm of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

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Until the House elects a new speaker, lawmakers cannot conduct any legislative business, complicating lawmakers’ tight timeline to advance their appropriations bills before the Nov. 17 deadline to fund the government. House Republicans are expected to hold a candidate forum on Tuesday evening, with the earliest possible vote being held on Wednesday.

However, it could take days to elect a new speaker if Republicans can’t coalesce around one nominee. It took 15 rounds of voting to elect McCarthy in January, with some GOP lawmakers suggesting it could take just as long this time around.