Republicans Beat Democrats in May Fundraising: Filings

The Republican National Committee outraised the Democratic National Committee in May, according to federal records.

Monthly disclosures filed June 20 with the Federal Election Commission showed that both the GOP’s central party committees and its congressional committees outperformed their Democratic Party counterparts last month.

According to the FEC, the RNC raised $30.7 million in May and spent $15.6 million. In the same time period, the DNC collected $22.6 million and spent $19.4 million.

While the DNC maintains the definitive advantage in cash on hand, the RNC is cutting into that. According to the FEC, the DNC held $65.2 million at the end of May, while the RNC had $54.1 million. The RNC and DNC are the primary committees of their parties.

In June, the Trump campaign, its allies, and the RNC announced they pulled in record amounts after a jury in a New York court handed down multiple felony convictions against former President Donald Trump.

May was the first month in 2024 when the RNC outraised the DNC.

It’s the second month in a row, the GOP prevailed in the fundraising race for Congress.

According to their FEC filings, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) both outraised their Democratic Party counterparts in May. However, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSSC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) both committees on the Democratic side maintained a cash-on-hand advantage.

The NRSC and NRCC collectively raised about $25 million in May. Together, the two spent about $17.2 million and retained about $105.6 million in cash.

The DSCC and DCCC together brought in about $22.6 million during the month. They used $15.7 million and held about $127.2 million in cash on hand.

The congressional committees exist primarily to raise money and donate to the campaigns of candidates running for seats in the House or Senate.

Like the RNC, both Republican congressional groups said the Trump verdict significantly boosted their monthly revenue.

On May 31, the NRSC announced it raised $360,000 in one day, the highest single-day online fundraising total of the 2024 election cycle to date.

The NRCC said it pulled in more than $1 million from so-called small-dollar donors in the days following the verdict in a New York court. Nearly a third of those contributors had never given to the NRCC before, the group said in a June 20 news release.

“Families don’t feel physically or financially secure with extreme Democrats running the country,“ NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson said in a release. ”They’re opening up their wallets to ensure there is no chance Democrats continue to wreak havoc on their daily lives next year.”

In a June 18 release, the DCCC said May was its best fundraising month ever.

“House Republicans’ extreme agenda of raising costs on working families, cutting Social Security, and taking away reproductive freedoms will cost them the House majority in November,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a release. “People know that House Democrats are focused on defending their rights and freedoms, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and growing the middle class.”

The same day, the DCCC said it would begin flexing its muscle with a $28 million advertising campaign prioritizing its expenditures on states with the most competitive races. The committee’s first drive of 2024 will push $16 million toward broadcast television and $12 million toward digital and streaming platforms.

According to the DCCC, 11 media markets will receive more than $1 million in spending. The largest expenditure of this round will be in Pennsylvania, in the Wilkes-Barre and Scranton media market, where the DCCC will spend close to $2 million.

In the 118th Congress, Republicans are still the majority party in the House despite some departures.

In the Senate, Republicans hold 49 of the 100 seats, and Democrats have 47, with 4 Independents.

Nevertheless, Democrats are considered the majority party because the four independent lawmakers—Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), and Joe Manchin (I-W.Va)—caucus with the Democrats.

All 435 House seats and a third of the Senate seats will be up for election in November 2024.