Like most political committees and campaign operations, the Republican National Committee is required to file comprehensive financial reports to the Federal Election Commission by Thursday night. Included in the reports will be how much the RNC spent this election cycle, the details of its donations, and how much cash is remaining.
The Republican National Committee will only have exemplary work to show.
The national GOP raised a whopping $36.6 million in the few weeks before and after Election Day. This is more than $6 million that was raised in the same time frame in 2012 with Mitt Romney as the presidential nominee.
The RNC has zero debt to pay off and boasts $21.4 million cash on hand. These are very strong numbers for a party that just came off a national election win and doesn’t have to worry about campaign expenditures until the next election cycle.
From October 20 to November 28, the average donation to the RNC was just $64.56. Ninety-seven percent of the donations were $200 or less – a strong indication of the level of grassroots support the party enjoyed during the election. In total, the RNC raised just shy of $319 million in the 2016 election cycle.
This strong financial footing puts the RNC in good position to hit the ground running towards 2018 and the heavenly election map waiting for Senate Republicans. A lot of thanks is owed to current chairman Reince Priebus, who will be stepping down to be Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff.
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Priebus led the party amid what was seen as chaos during the primary and general elections. Trump’s campaign was slow at building its own operation and fundraising network. They relied heavily on the RNC’s infrastructure and database. However, many establishment fears about Trump’s expected performance on Election Day turned out to be unfounded as he became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan in decades. The president-elect’s coattails also carried down-ballot Republicans to victory in state legislative races – resulting in more gains in state chambers. The unexpected success at the ballot box resulted in stronger post-election fundraising numbers.
The race is already well under way for Priebus' replacement.
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