Report: Republican National Committee Facing Financial Shortfall

The Republican National Committee’s (RNC) cash on hand at the end of November was the lowest the organization has reported at that point since 2016, according to recently filed Federal Election Commission (FEC) financial disclosures.

A Wednesday filing revealed the RNC had $9.96 million available to spend as of Nov. 30 — less than half of what it had when former President Donald Trump was challenging President Joe Biden’s White House win.

By contrast, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) reported having just over $20 million in cash on hand at the end of November. Since 2021, both party committees have seen their funds dwindle, but the RNC’s balance has dropped to less than half of its counterpart’s in the past two reporting periods.

The numbers provide an annual glimpse into the finances of each party; the amount of cash on hand between the reporting dates may be higher or lower, while the FEC filings are also indicative of each party’s level of expenditure.

According to the financial disclosures, at the end of November the DNC consistently reported lower cash balance than the RNC until 2021, when it topped the GOP governing body for the first time since 2016.

Following the 2016 election, the RNC went from having $21.35 million in available cash to $39.84 million after Trump’s first November as commander in chief.

The RNC’s cash dropped slightly in the run-up to the 2020 election, before rebounding to its highest point in the eight-year period in 2021, when the organization was flush with $65.47 million in cash on hand.

Since 2021, however, the RNC has seen a precipitous drop in cash, reporting just $17.28 million in the aftermath of last year’s midterm elections. In October, it reported its lowest cash balance since 2015 — just $9.12 million.

In an interview with The Washington Post in November, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel suggested voters were currently focused on funding their preferred presidential candidate.

“There’s nothing unusual about this, because they know that once their candidate gets in that we will merge and that we’ll be working together to win the White House,” she said.

Earlier this month, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, called for McDaniel’s resignation on Newsmax.

“She has badly failed the Republican Party,” Ramaswamy told “Eric Bolling The Balance.” “The fact of the matter is, I judge by results — 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 — all disasters for Republicans. That spans two different [presidential] administrations, one Republican, one Democrat.”

“At the end of the day — and I don’t mean this personally against her, I just mean this as somebody who wants to have a party that wins elections — we need to have some level of accountability in this party,” he added.

Ramaswamy first called for McDaniel’s resignation during the third GOP primary debate in Miami on Nov. 8, and has since circulated a petition calling on the RNC leader to step down. McDaniel has chaired the RNC since 2017, and Republicans have suffered substantial election losses during her tenure.

The Democrats gained 41 seats in the House in the 2018 midterm elections, giving them the majority, which they held until 2022. Although the widely predicted red wave did not materialize during last year’s midterms, and Trump lost the 2020 election, Republicans did regain control of the lower chamber, albeit with a slim majority.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., said November’s election results should not have been so disappointing for Republicans.

“I’m not going to blame one person, but I will say this, it should have been a much better year,” Van Drew told Newsmax‘s “The Chris Salcedo Show” when asked whether he believed McDaniel should bow out. “We can do better.”

The New Jersey congressman added that the entire GOP, including the head of the RNC, needs to undertake a good “self-examination” going into next year’s election.

Tennessee RNC member Oscar Brock told the Post he’s trying to figure out why contributions aren’t flowing the way they used to.

“We’re going through the same efforts we always go through to raise money: the same donor meetings, retreats, digital advertising, direct mail,” Brock said. “But the return is much lower this year. If you know the answer, I’d love to know it.”