Nathan News

WASHINGTON — Rushing to raise funds and close gaping gaps with their Democratic rivals, every Republican Senate candidate in a competitive race is taking valuable campaign time to come to Washington this week and then raise money before the departure of Congress for the fall.

Fundraiser invites obtained by The New York Times reveal days full of free dinners, receptions and even get-togethers — schedule-fillers the candidates hope they can use to make an impression and pick up a check on the spot.

Two thousand miles from Phoenix, Blake Masters, the Republican challenging Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, made a campaign speech Wednesday night alongside Sen. Mitch McConnell in a conference room near the Capitol. Mr. Masters accused his Democratic rival of presenting himself as a moderate while voting as a liberal.

“We don’t need as much money as Kelly, just enough to get the truth out,” Mr. Masters said, according to notes from a person in the room, which was packed with lobbyists. who had paid $1,000 per political action. committee to attend.

When it comes to political fundraising, Mr. Masters was making a modest request, and he’s not the only Republican to scale back his financial goals. Republican Senate candidates, many of whom are first-time candidates, have no choice but to race from the lobby to the steakhouse alongside party leaders, some of whom have been lambasted in their primaries, but who serve now a decoy to lobbyists eager for access.

The reasons are various. Republican small-dollar fundraising has dried up in the face of soaring inflation. Former President Donald J. Trump’s incessant calls for his own committees have siphoned off money that would typically go to candidates or party committees. And the party’s rookie Senate candidates don’t have the kind of wealthy donor networks that more seasoned candidates have nurtured for years.

“These are candidates who have never run for office before and have never done the work necessary to develop grassroots or donor relationships in their own states or nationally,” said fundraiser Jack Oliver. long-time Republican fund. He then alluded to how many of them claimed their nomination: “If you can just go on Tucker or get Trump to endorse you, you don’t have to go meet with voters or people. donors.”

For some major contributors, the summer has just ended, the weather hasn’t changed much, and the election seems a long way off. However, the advent of widespread early and mail-in voting, along with the need to book airtime on local TV channels, means there is little time left for candidates to raise the money they need. .

“For donors it’s early, for candidates it’s late,” said Lisa Spies, a Republican fundraising consultant.

Of course, candidates from both parties have long traveled to the nation’s capital to raise funds from the influencer industry. And even as this year’s Republican class fights for money, the candidates have the backing of outside super PACs, including the one Mr. McConnell effectively controls, to ensure they remain financially competitive. (Mr McConnell’s group, the Senate Leadership Fund, accounted for 90% of the money spent on television this week in the Ohio Senate race, and an even higher percentage in North Carolina. .)

Mr. McConnell has asked his fellow Republican senators to contribute 20% of their leadership PAC money this election, an increase from previous campaigns, according to a Republican official familiar with the request.

“That’s why God invented super PACs,” said Scott Reed, a seasoned Republican strategist.

Still, the frenzied cash rush around Washington shortly before early voting begins in many states underscores the urgency Republicans feel to whittle away at Democrats’ fundraising advantage. Much of the motivation: Candidates receive significantly better TV ad rates than super PACs, so an individual campaign dollar goes further on the air.

A spreadsheet of TV ad bookings shared by a top Republican strategist this week makes it clear why many party members are alarmed by their fundraising shortfall. Face to face, the Democratic candidates have been spending significantly more than their Republican rivals for weeks. In some states, like Arizona, New Hampshire and North Carolina, GOP nominees didn’t even air a single ad in August and September.

Even in Georgia and Nevada, perhaps the two states where Republicans have the best chance of overthrowing seats held by Democrats, Democratic incumbents are crushing their GOP challengers.

From the week of August 14 to the week of November 6, Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia had more than $30 million in TV bookings, while his Republican opponent, Herschel Walker, had just over $7.8 million booked. of dollars. During the same period, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Democrat of Nevada, had more than $16 million in television reservations while her Republican opponent, Adam Laxalt, had just over $6 million reserved.

In major Senate races, top Democrats raise millions of dollars online every month. In August alone, Mr. Warnock received nearly $6.8 million from more than 200,000 contributions, and Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes of Wisconsin raised nearly $6.3 million from more than 120,000 donations.

In Arizona, Mr. Kelly raised $5.7 million through more than 170,000 donations on ActBlue in August. This sum is more than Mr. Masters had raised in total since the start of his campaign in 2021 until mid-July 2022, the latest date for which data is available.

The Democratic advantage was mitigated by outside Republican spending, including some hybrid ads between GOP candidates and the Senate Republican campaign arm.

But the disparity in candidate fundraising explains why so many Republican Senate hopefuls have traded public appearances at home for private events on more financially fertile ground. It’s Washington this week and next. Last week it was in Florida, where Republican National Senate Committee Chairman Rick Scott recruited eight candidates around his state and Sea Island, Georgia, a resort community where his committee held a retreat for weekend donors for many of the same suitors.

What’s striking about the candidates’ schedules is how much work they do for relatively little financial gain at a time when some of the most prominent Democrats have racked up tens of millions. Individuals are limited to donating $2,900 to applicants, and PACs can only contribute up to $5,000.

Next Tuesday, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican Senate candidate from Pennsylvania, is hosting fundraising receptions in Washington at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., each hosted by a different lobbyist group.

It will be Dr. Oz’s second hike to the Beltway in a week: Last Tuesday he was at the home of Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, Northern Virginia Republican agents and Trump enthusiasts, where $5,800 awarded a couple l admission to an event and a photo with the TV doctor turned Senate candidate.

Mr. Laxalt, too, spent long hours away from Nevada. After attending events in Florida and Georgia last week, he spent Tuesday at a $2,900-per-person dinner in the well-heeled hunting country of Virginia. Mr. Laxalt then returned to Washington to attend a series of events on Wednesday with Republican lobbyists and senators, culminating in a “cigar night with Adam Laxalt hosted by the Premium Cigar Association” that cost $250 per person or $500 per PAC to attend (no word on if the cigar was extra).

“The math is really simple: You can’t get there at $2,900 a pop,” said Mr. Reed, the Republican strategist.

That doesn’t stop hopefuls from trying, though.

Mr. Masters, who faces a fundraising deficit the size of the Grand Canyon with Mr. Kelly, charged just $500 per person to attend the reception with Mr. McConnell on Wednesday.

The next day, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors hosted Mr. Masters for an afternoon meeting at an even more modest price.

“This is a meet and greet, not a fundraiser, so an opportunity for anyone wishing to meet the candidate to do so without having to commit financially – although they would obviously welcome contributions!” Jade West, the wholesalers’ lobbyist, wrote in an email to potential attendees.

Of all the GOP candidates for the Senate, Mr. Masters has perhaps criticized Mr. McConnell the fiercest in the past. But that hasn’t stopped Mr. McConnell and his deputy, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, from hosting events for Mr. Masters and JD Vance, the party’s Senate candidate in Ohio and another candidate who targeted the leadership of the Senate during the primary. season.

Mr. Vance had a measly $628,000 in the bank at the start of this month.

Mr Oliver said that while it was probably too late to do so now, Republicans should have raised fundraising for their Senate candidates by creating a contest among the party’s potential 2024 presidential candidates to see who could have collected the most for each of them. top contenders.

But, Mr. Oliver lamented, Mr. Trump and Fox News shape wholesale GOP politics today, nearly determining the primaries and therefore consuming the attention of candidates and their campaigns.

“Relationship politics no longer exists,” he said. “But that means it’s hard for JD Vance to go to Toledo and fundraise because when you need a check for $500 there, they don’t know you.”

Shane Goldmacher contributed report.