House Speaker Paul D. Ryan’s political action committee on Monday announced a transfer of nearly a quarter of a million dollars to GOP incumbents, as Republicans start spreading cash to protect their House majority in November’s elections.
Prosperity Action Political Action Committee, a Ryan-affiliated leadership PAC, is moving a total of $715,000 to 143 Republican lawmakers — its largest transfer of the year — as House Republicans plot a midterm campaign strategy based in part on selling its $1.5 trillion tax cut to the public.
“The speaker wants to make sure that our members have the resources they need to talk about this success story,” said Kevin Seifert, the executive director of Mr. Ryan’s political operations.
Overall, Mr. Ryan’s political operation raised $44 million in 2017 — a record for a non-election year. He transferred more than $32 million of that total to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House Republicans’ official campaign arm.
All told, the NRCC raised $85 million in 2017 and finished the year with $43.6 million on hand. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) raised $105 million, though it started the new year with less cash on hand — about $38.9 million.
GOP members will undoubtedly welcome the cash infusion from Mr. Ryan, a prodigious fundraiser in his own right, as year-end campaign finance reports showed dozens of vulnerable Republicans get out-raised by one or more challengers for at least part of last year.
Democrats need to pick up a net of two dozen seats in order to retake control of the House, and are banking on riding the anti-Trump energy of the party’s base through to the fall.
“I think if you’re a Democratic candidate right now and you’re not able to raise money, then you’re probably doing it wrong,” said Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of Inside Elections, a political newsletter.
Mr. Gonzales also said individual Republicans’ campaign accounts could have been hurt in part by the GOP’s relative lack of legislative accomplishments last year, and that any positive feedback associated with the tax cut bill wouldn’t really be reflected in December or year-end fundraising totals.
“I think there’s an expectation that this quarter’s fundraising should be better for Republicans now that they have delivered on at least one of their campaign promises,” he said.
Indeed, Rep. Greg Walden, a past NRCC chairman, said passing the tax bill was a critical signal for the GOP base, making up somewhat for Republicans’ failure to fully repeal Obamacare.
“Our base said ’OK, you guys could actually come together and get something big done,’” said Mr. Walden, Oregon Republican.
Other GOP-aligned outside groups are also ready to swoop in to pick up any slack.
Combined, the Congressional Leadership Fund and American Action Network — two Ryan-aligned outside groups — raised $66 million in 2017, and CLF started the year with more than $15 million cash on hand.
Meanwhile, House Majority PAC — the main House Democratic super PAC — raised close to $15 million last year and started 2018 with a little more than $11.4 million on hand.
The Republican National Committee also blew away its Democratic counterpart in 2017, raising $132.5 million to the Democratic National Committee’s $65.9 million. The RNC had about $39 million on hand to start the year, compared to just $6.5 million for the DNC.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s overall 2017 fundraising picture was not immediately available, though she reported raising nearly $26 million for Democrats during the first half of the year.
Factoring in a natural fundraising edge for the party in power, though, Democrats are still in relatively decent shape, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the political newsletter “Sabato’s Crystal Ball.”
Mr. Kondik said the national environment in the fall will dictate whether either side can ultimately shepherd the resources effectively.
“If the Republicans find themselves on the wrong end of a wave, no amount of money will be enough to save their majority,” Mr. Kondik said in an email. “But if the environment is survivable in the fall, Republicans will have the money to make their case.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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