Fundraising fight: Republican National Committee's February haul shatters records

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EXCLUSIVE: The Republican National Committee (RNC) reports bringing in a record $16.3 million in fundraising last month, as it keeps building resources towards November's midterm elections, when the GOP aims to win back House and Senate majorities.

The RNC says last month’s fundraising haul, which was shared first with Fox News on Tuesday, is the most it’s ever raised in the month of February during a midterm election year. The RNC reports that they’ve now brought in $188 million so far in the 2022 election cycle, and that they have $45.5 million on hand, with no debt.

"The Republican National Committee is firing on all cylinders – we’re breaking fundraising records, out raising Democrats, investing in our state-of-the-art infrastructure, and holding Biden and Democrats accountable for their failures," RNC chair Ronna McDaniel emphasized in a statement. 

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And McDaniel, who has served as RNC chair since the beginning of 2017, took aim at President Biden, charging that "voters will reject Biden’s gas hike, skyrocketing prices, open border and soft on crime agenda and vote for Republicans’ proven agenda come November." 

Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, speaks during the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nov. 6, 2021. (Photographer: Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The rival Democratic National Committee has yet to report their February fundraising figures. NBC News reported on Monday that the DNC brought in a record $14 million last month, but the national party committee would not confirm those figures.

As Fox News first reported in January, the RNC hauled in an off-election year record $158.6 million in 2021, slightly edging the DNC. And the RNC out raised its Democratic counterpart in January fundraising, $13 million to $10.2 million. But the DNC retained a cash-on-hand advantage, with over $11 million more in its coffers than the RNC as of the end January.

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National party fundraising is a key barometer of donor and voter enthusiasm ahead of the midterms, and the money raised can be used – among other things – for party staffing in key battlegrounds, grassroots and other get-out-the-vote efforts, campaign ads, and can be transferred the party House and Senate reelection 

The GOP needs a net gain of just one seat to recapture the majority in the 100-member Senate they lost when they were swept in the Jan. 2021 twin runoff elections in Georgia. And Republicans need a net gain of five seats in the 435-member House of Representatives to win back the majority the Democrats captured in the 2018 midterms.committees. 

The Democrats are facing a difficult political climate as well as historical headwinds this year, as the party that wins the White House traditionally suffers setbacks in the ensuing midterms.

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But the president, addressing the DNC’s winter meeting last Thursday, argued that "coming out of the State of the Union, we are in the strongest position we’ve been in months."

President Biden speaks to members at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. Thursday, March 10, 2022. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

And the president emphasized that Democrats "have a record – a record to be proud of; an agenda that addresses the biggest concerns here in America, in people’s lives; the message that resonates."

But the president’s approval rating, another key barometer ahead other, remains underwater even with a slight bump in recent weeks. And Republicans have a slight edge over the Democrats in the generic ballot, another key polling question used to gauge support for congressional races.

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The president on Monday night headlined a small, top-dollar, DNC fundraiser, which was his first in-person fundraising event for his party since taking over in the White House 14 months ago amid the coronavirus pandemic. It was another sign that Biden is stepping up his fundraising efforts on behalf of his party.

While the RNC has been holding in person fundraisers for months, the DNC’s finance events have been held virtually due to pandemic restrictions. But with the rates of new COVID cases quickly declining, there’s been a desire by major Democratic donors to enjoy some in-person face time with the president.