GOP fundraising platform WinRed touts uptick in new donors amid contentious primary race

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RNC reveals what it wants to hear from candidates at second GOP debate

RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel previews the second Republican debate on FOX Business and argues each candidate needs to have a 'breakout' moment showing they can improve Americans' lives.

FIRST ON FOX: The contentious 2024 Republican presidential primary is driving an uptick in "valuable" new donors to the GOP’s online fundraising platform WinRed, the platform told Fox News Digital.

WinRed, which launched in 2019 to compete with the Democratic Party’s fundraising platform ActBlue, has 1.4 million donors so far this year, and 532,000 — or 38% — are new donors, up three points from 35% during the 2022 election cycle, the platform told Fox News Digital.

The platform attributes the increase in new donors to the Republican National Committee’s strict threshold requirements for candidates to qualify for each debate.

GOP presidential candidates onstage at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee Aug. 23, 2023, for the first Republican nomination debate. (Fox News)

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"The numbers are clear that the RNC’s debate requirements are driving significant new donor acquisition," WinRed told Fox News Digital. "This critical threshold is driving cultural change at campaigns, which is crucial for Republicans to surpass Democrats in online fundraising.

"WinRed seeks to educate the industry about the value of these donors so that we can continue to drive technological and cultural change at the campaign level and arm our candidates with the resources needed to win more elections."

The RNC’s qualification thresholds have been raised for each debate. The candidates needed to hit 1% in polling and have 40,000 donors to qualify for the Fox News-hosted event in Milwaukee Aug. 23.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump (Fox News)

The candidates needed to hit 3% in the polls and 50,000 donors for Wednesday night’s second debate, a FOX Business-hosted showdown at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California.

To participate in the third debate, each candidate must have a minimum of 70,000 unique donors and reach 4% support in two national polls, or reach 4% in one national poll and 4% in two statewide polls conducted in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, the four states that lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

Candidates are also required to sign a pledge saying they agree to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee. They must agree not to participate in any non-RNC-sanctioned debates for the rest of the 2024 election cycle and agree to data-sharing with the national party committee.

2024 Republican presidential candidates Mike Pence, Nikki Haley and Chris Christie. (Getty Images)

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Aside from individual candidates, a number of Republican committees utilize WinRed's services, including the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Republican State Leadership Committee, the Republican Governors Association and the Save America JFC.

However, WinRed said a whopping 88% of the 532,000 new donors this year came from presidential campaigns. 

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub