House Republicans reported strong fundraising numbers in the days following Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) ascension to the speakership, offering a signal of hope to the party that he will be able to fill Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) shoes.
The National Republican Congressional Committee reported a Friday haul of $175,000 for online fundraising, marking its highest day since February 2022, according to the House GOP’s campaign arm. That cycle record was broken just one day later, resulting in a total haul of more than $475,000 over the weekend.
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“Speaker Johnson is off to a hot start in the money game,” NRCC Communications Director Jack Pandol said in a statement. “The NRCC is proud to partner with our Speaker to ensure we have the resources to grow our majority.”
The numbers show a sign of fundraising strength for the newly elected speaker. Roughly 75% of the total was collected from emails that were signed directly by Johnson.
The NRCC touted a number of other single-day milestones reached over the weekend, including the highest number of individual donations and monthly donor sign-ups so far this cycle. More than 10% of the NRCC’s new donors who have signed on during the 2024 cycle joined this weekend, according to the group.
The substantial haul comes after several GOP leaders had wondered aloud how the party would move on from McCarthy’s leadership, specifically noting his prowess with fundraising on other candidates’ behalf. 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.
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.
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“I heard what they said in conference,” McCarthy said during his farewell speech earlier this month. “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.”
The numbers precede Johnson’s first full week as House speaker, during which the Louisiana Republican must make significant progress to tackle must-pass spending bills ahead of a Nov. 17 deadline to fund the government. The chamber will juggle other pieces of legislation, such as aid for Israel and Ukraine. The House, which adjourned for recess last week, is set to reconvene on Wednesday evening.
