McCarthy, Scalise, cash transfers fuel House GOP campaign arm fundraising haul

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FIRST ON FOX – The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is off to a fast start in building a formidable war chest as it aims to expand the GOP majority in the chamber in next year’s elections.

Thanks in part to large cash transfers from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise – the top two Republicans in the chamber – the NRCC reports hauling in $25.8 million in the January-March first quarter of 2023 fundraising, including $14.7 last month. 

The NRCC reported $24 million cash on hand as of the end of March. The House GOP campaign committee’s fundraising figures were shared first with Fox News on Thursday.

"Money and message makes a majority, and the NRCC is sprinting out of the gates on both fronts. As we focus our efforts on recruiting top-flight candidates and building well-funded campaigns around them, we are building our war chest to tell the story of how the Republican majority is working for the American people," NRCC chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said in a statement.

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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., celebrates after taking the oath of office in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 7, 2023. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

McCarthy, who raised a record $35 million in the first quarter – as Fox News first reported late last month – transferred $7 million to the NRCC the past three month. McCarthy, the longtime congressman from California who’s known as one of the most prolific fundraisers in Washington D.C., clawed his way through an historic 15-ballot speakership election over five days at the beginning of the year.

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Scalise, R-La., transferred $3 million to the House GOP campaign arm. Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who spent the past two cycles steering the NRCC, transferred $585,000 and GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., transferred $200,000.

"Growing our majority is a team sport. Our team captains have gone above and beyond to lead by example. We are extremely grateful for their tireless and generous support." Hudson, who's in his sixth term in the House, emphasized.

Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina, speaks during a news conference following a House Republicans meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 9, 2021. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The fundraising helped the NRCC pay down its debt. The committee began the cycle $15 million in the red but finished the first quarter with only $5.5 million in debt remaining, after paying off $9.5 million during the first three months of the year.

Republicans controlled the House majority for eight years before the Democrats won back the chamber in the 2018 midterms. Two years later, in the 2020 elections, the GOP defied expectations and took a big bite out of Democrats’ majority.  

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The GOP captured the majority in the November 2022 elections, but hopes of a red wave never materialized and the party is holding onto a fragile 222-213 majority. That means Democrats need a net gain of just five seats to win back control of the chamber next year.

The rival Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has yet to announce it’s first quarter fundraising. The DCCC hauled in $8 million in January and $12.7 million in February. The House Democrats’ campaign arm entered March with $21.3 million cash on hand.