Pop quiz: without looking it up, who was the last GOP presidential candidate to outraise their Democrat opponent?
Not Donald Trump or Mitt Romney, whose opponents outraised them by hundreds of millions of dollars.
The correct answer is George W. Bush in 2004. And, not coincidentally, that was the last time the GOP won the popular vote in a presidential election.
In almost every major election since 2016, the GOP has taken a beating on the national stage. The results of the 2022 midterms were perhaps the most disappointing, when the anticipated “red wave” collapsed into a mere trickle. In this past fall’s elections, Republican candidates also fell short of victory in the most important races.
Various Republican factions have taken to blaming each other for these failures. But while many issues have led the party to its current woes, one in particular stands above the rest: the GOP is not raising enough money to compete. And until party leaders and candidates start taking this problem seriously, the losses will only continue.
In the 2022 House, Senate, and gubernatorial midterm elections, Democrat candidates and issue groups outspent Republicans by a whopping $390 million. This massive spending advantage allowed Democrats to run nearly 25 percent more broadcast ads than their GOP counterparts.
In the Arizona Senate race, for example, Democrat Mark Kelly raised $89 million to Republican Blake Masters’ mere $14 million, allowing Kelly’s campaign to run more than 50,000 more ads than Masters.
In the 2023 off-year election, the story was the same.
In Kentucky’s gubernatorial election, Republican Daniel Cameron raised only $6.5 million compared to Democrat incumbent Gov. Andy Beshear’s $23.1 million, a near 4-to-1 deficit. Despite the state’s typical GOP-lean, Cameron lost by five points.
Why is this happening? The GOP’s culture of losing begins and ends with leadership.
In the Arizona and Kentucky examples, Mitch McConnell played a devastating role in both failures. Leading up to the midterms, McConnell infamously removed millions in ad spending from Blake Masters’ race to bolster the unpopular Sen. Lisa Murkowski against a fellow Republican. He also failed to generate much financial support for Cameron, despite that race being in his own backyard.
Then there’s the RNC, which should be the driving force behind the party’s platform and priorities. In October, the RNC reported having less cash on hand than in any FEC report since 2015. Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has argued that major donors are currently concentrating on their preferred primary candidate and that funding will increase once the party has its nominee. But one primary cycle does not explain a near-decade of poor performance on the ballot and in fundraising.
To solve the GOP’s fundraising problem, a two-pronged approach is needed.
First, Republicans need to recognize who their supporters actually are. There’s no shortage of conservatives willing to give to conservative causes – just consider that GOP-aligned outside groups outspent their Democrat counterparts by about $100 million in 2022. Clearly, Republican voters are still engaged.
However, these potential donors are motivated by different issues than those of decades past. The majority joined the political arena because of populist candidates like Donald Trump, and they care deeply about fighting the direct threats to the family and the country. They don’t want to belong to the party of job creators, marginal tax cuts, and defense spending. Continuing to appeal to such outdated values will get GOP candidates nowhere.
Second, Republicans must change their approach to reaching these new potential donors.
Although the GOP donor base has radically changed, party operatives still haven’t adjusted from their old school fundraising mechanisms and tactics, crippling their candidates’ abilities to compete financially with their opponents. Escaping this rut means embracing new technologies and media platforms, but also, as stated above, meeting donors where they are and emphasizing the issues they are most concerned about.
Republicans must begin punching back at Democrats with aggressive ads that match issues the donors care most about. Donor dollars will follow this approach – it’s one of the main drivers currently separating outside issue groups from most candidates.
If Republicans care about winning they’ll face this problem head on and execute a plan to solve it: embracing a populist platform, running hard-hitting ads, and engaging this new base on the issues they favor most. This approach will solve many of the GOP’s financial problems.
There’s still time to get it done in 2024. Republicans must resolve in this new year to make it the highest priority.
Chris Madden is the Director of Development at American Principles Project. Follow him on X @Madden__Chris.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.