Online fundraising for the Republican Party dropped during the second quarter, as many are blaming record-high inflation and Donald Trump for the lack of donations in recent months.
WinRed, the Republican Party online fundraising platform, brought in $155.8 million in April, May, and June, as it was a decline in donations from the $169.8 million in the first quarter, according to the Washington Examiner.
By comparison, the Democratic Party raised roughly $513 million through their online fundraising platform ActBlue during the second quarter.
While WinRed struggled to increase its fundraising, the former president's political action committee (PAC), Save America, has brought in $103.7 million. But all of that money is just for his own campaign, and is not helping the Republican Party win future elections.
"If the former president were sharing the wealth, perhaps Republicans would be less resentful. But Trump appears to be hoarding cash, $103.1 million through June 30, for a 2024 presidential bid," the Washington Examiner said.
"The money has funded his political team and retribution agenda against Republicans who have crossed him," the New York Times added.
A Republican strategist told the Washington Examiner that Trump is only concerned about his own fundraising.
"Trump has never had the Republican Party’s best interests at heart," the Republican strategist said. "He has his own interests, and that's it."
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said last week while appearing on Fox News to discuss the 2022 midterm elections that, "We’ve got to raise the money," and added, "We get the money, we win."
"In January, 1.26 million online contributions of $200 or less were made on WinRed; that number in June was 1.21 million," according to The Washington Post. "The total raised from these small-dollar donations has also fallen slightly — from $29.5 million in January to $26.6 million in June."
Zac Moffatt, CEO of Targeted Victory, a Republican consulting firm, spoke about the challenges that inflation has caused for donors. According to the most recent Consumer Price Index Summary published on July 13, inflation rose 1.3% in June to a record-high of 9.1%.
"As the economy eats away at purchasing power, something has to go by the wayside," Moffatt said.
"We do these massive 3,000-person surveys to our donor file,” Moffatt added. "The verbatim [responses have been:] It’s gas or this donation; it’s vacation with our children or this donation."
Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, said "at a closed-door donor retreat last month" that inflation is very much to blame for the lack of donations, per the New York Times.
"Some Republican strategists said that their small-donor base is especially susceptible to price increases because their small donors are increasingly working class or rely on fixed incomes," the New York Times said.
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