Top Republican officials privately worry that former President Donald Trump’s barrage of fundraising appeals could kneecap their efforts to fund 2022 races, Axios reports.
Trump’s operation pumps out a constant barrage of fundraising emails and texts daily.
Four top Republican strategists told Axios that the barrage is “imperiling efforts to build a sustainable, grassroots base of financial support for anyone not named Trump.”
Trump’s Save America group raised more than $51 million in the final six months of 2021 and ended the year with $122 million in the bank.
About 22 cents of every dollar processed by Republican payment processor WinRed went to Save America and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee.
The two groups raised more than the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee — combined.
By comparison, the DNC and Democratic campaign arms have raised the most money on ActBlue, the Democrats’ payment processor.
Worries grow:
Strategists told Axios that the barrage of fundraising appeals threatens to burn out donors.
Some also worry that Trump will “squat” on the money rather than spending it to elect other Republicans.
Because Trump’s approach is so effective, it may be more expensive for other Republicans to try to raise money online.
One analysis found that Trump’s operation has sent out at least 10 fundraising emails a day since October and 14 per day since the beginning of the year.
"Conservative donors are getting six, 12, maybe even two dozen fundraising emails or text messages every single day. And the chances of them opening yours, let alone reading, clicking and donating, is pretty small to begin with," one strategist said. "If you include Trump in that, ... your competition for the inboxes of donors just goes through the roof. It's just it makes it so much more difficult to convert any of these people."
Trump camp pushes back:
Trump’s team dismissed the complaints as “jealous griping by less successful competitors.”
"No one in the history of the Republican Party has done more to grow the donor pool at every level than President Donald J. Trump, something that pays untold dividends to Republican candidates and causes across the nation," Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich told Axios, dismissing the "the cowardly consultant-class" and "frauds who just can't deliver for their clients."
He added that Trump’s brand has driven “historic fundraising hauls."
"Absent of President Trump, those dollars wouldn't be raised,” he said.
