With GOP presidential candidates still eight months away from the first nominating contest, a more imminent battle is emerging online for small donors.
These donors, who can both signal campaign strength and provide funds to help support a candidate through next spring, have become an essential part of a modern campaign operation. The jockey on them comes amid a backdrop where Republicans have long trailed their Democratic counterparts when it comes to online fundraising.
Former President Donald Trump, the leading Republican primary candidate, was generally an exception.
Now, as a growing number of GOP candidates set out to build their own low-budget donor bases, they also have the opportunity to rewrite the playbook.
Trump won his base through aggressive brand messaging: pledges that never seemed to materialize or urgent all-caps language. But the burgeoning field of GOP sees an opportunity to approach fundraising differently. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley are all using slightly different tactics to dethrone little Don.
They must. Their political future depends on it. And the star of the primary offers a unique opportunity for Republican digital fundraising, with implications for 2024 and beyond.
“It’s going to expose more donors to these candidates who are rising stars in the party,” said Eric Wilson, managing partner of Startup Caucus who also worked on Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump starts out as the king of small dollars
No one has a better history with small donors than Trump, who has led in every major GOP primary field poll so far. Its various committees garnered online donations from more than 780,000 separate donors in 2021 and 2022, according to a POLITICO analysis of FEC data from WinRed, the leading Republican donation-processing platform, more than any other candidate or federal committee.
Yet Trump’s fundraising since launching his campaign has been spotty. He saw a massive increase in contributions to his joint fundraising committee after the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago property last August, but also spent significantly more on text messaging and other methods of communication. donor outreach during this period, according to FEC filings. His campaign launch in November generated lower daily fundraising than after Mar-a-Lago’s search.
But the former president’s indictment by a New York grand jury in late March has helped revitalize his fundraising, its latest FEC report showed. Other legal issues – including the possibility of another indictment related to classified documents held at Mar-a-Lago – could once again boost him when it comes to online fundraising.
DeSantis’ big first day
DeSantis, who officially jumped into the race on Wednesday, raised $217 million in his last re-election, the most of any gubernatorial candidate ever — though not all of that translates to the federal level. Florida’s campaign finance law does not cap donation amounts and allows direct corporate contributions, which presidential candidates are prohibited from.
Still, DeSantis’ campaign said he raised more than $8 million in the first 24 hours after launching his presidential campaign via a technically difficult Twitter space, though it’s unclear how much of that. this share was driven by small donors. His campaign also spent thousands of dollars on Facebook ads in the days after its launch, mostly asking for $47 donations, a nod to his hopes of becoming the 47th president.
An early fundraising email from his campaign used the subject line “unlike any other presidential campaign, friend” and promised to treat donors as “part of our team” rather than a “piggy bank”. Such a call certainly does not mirror Trump’s fundraising emails. But it made DeSantis look much more like a few of his other Republican opponents, with Haley’s campaign noting the similarities with an email she had sent months earlier.
Haley looks at family and politics
For new candidates in a federal campaign, there is more work in building an initial list of supporters. Haley, who raised just under $800,000 from small donors in the first quarter, also targeted donors with Facebook ads, and her joint fundraising committee spent more than $200,000 on list rentals. in the first trimester.
Her campaign has been among the most active via text message, with content often featuring updates, polls and messages from her husband. A recent 213-word text message themed around the upcoming Memorial Day holiday included bullet points about the former UN ambassador for veterans’ policy plans.
“Building a low-cost, reliable donor base requires patience, honesty and a candidate who understands that building relationships cannot be based on fear and intimidation. up-to-date policies, campaign notes or personal touches from Haley family members, honesty matters, and we make sure every donor feels like part of the team,” the doorman said. -word by Haley, Ken Farnaso.
Scott seeks to build on Senate strengths
Scott, whose campaign said it raised more than $2 million after its official launch on Monday, has been among the top GOP congressional fundraisers along with small donors. During the 2022 election cycle, he raised $15.7 million from contributors giving less than $200, according to FEC data — a higher total than several other Republican incumbents who have faced more challenges. competitive. His Senate campaign also had just over 160,000 separate donors on WinRed in 2021 and 2022, according to a POLITICO analysis of FEC data.
His presidential campaign released fundraising-focused digital ads coinciding with his launch this week. The announcements were largely positive and biographical. His then-Senate campaign also spent more than $150,000 on online advertising and list rentals in late March, shortly before his presidential search committee announcement, according to FEC records.
An adviser to Scott, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the fundraising strategy, said the now presidential campaign’s fundraising messages sought to focus on the South Carolina senator rather than generic republican lines. The campaign emphasized “respecting” donors, which probably means sending fewer text messages than some other campaigns.
“We may not have the highest raw numbers, but I’m confident we’ll always have the highest net,” the adviser said, referring to how some campaigns use so much of their fundraising to find and contact donors.
A strong fundraising track record is a good place to start, but donors from previous cycles don’t always translate into a presidential race — in terms of money or votes. About 45% of donors who gave to Scott in 2021 or 2022 also gave to Trump’s Joint Fundraising Committee during the same period, according to a POLITICO analysis. (For Trump, the figure is about 10% of donors in his group who also gave to Scott.)
One vote, but several donations
Fundraising professionals note that political donations, particularly at the primary stage, are driven by different motivations than voting, with donors sometimes feeling pressured to give to one or more candidates based on a performance of inspiring debate or a desire to see them progress on the ground – even if the donor may be undecided when it comes to eventually voting.
A good performance among small donors can also be an indicator of a campaign’s longevity. Donors who give only a small amount have the option of donating again to a campaign. Recurring donors, who often donate once a month, have played a central role in both parties’ online fundraising strategies.
The Republican National Committee has launched a donor threshold for participation in debates that will begin later this summer, a tactic that could help fringe candidates get on stage if used instead of other requirements, such as a threshold survey, while excluding those with little online support. (No specific threshold has been set publicly; the RNC did not respond to requests for comment.)
A similar demand for Democratic debates in the 2020 primaries led to an explosion in the number of new donors – although the $1 donation campaign also led to some lower-tier candidates spending more than they raised at this time of the cycle.
“We know that once someone donates for the first time, they’re more likely to enter our ecosystem and support other candidates, so I think that’s going to really help the Republican Party in general. said Wilson, the digital strategist.
The Longshots seek to make the debate
A few lesser-known candidates, such as entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, have made direct reference to a potential donor debate threshold in fundraising appeals. More established candidates seem unfazed by this, with several campaigns indicating that they have already passed the threshold likely to be reached.
Ramaswamy, the longtime biotech entrepreneur with no political experience who has invested millions of his own fortune in his campaign, has been more experimental when it comes to small donors. His campaign has rented mailing lists on conservative sites such as the Daily Caller, sending sponsored emails with links that allow him to collect contact details of potential supporters and solicit donations.
He has also spent heavily on digital advertising, including being the only GOP presidential candidate to date to advertise on Twitter, according to data from the social media company. (He also spent more than $92,000 on Facebook ads.) Recruiting small donors to meet RNC’s potential requirement was central to his speech.
“$1 to put these ideas on the debate stage,” he said. said in a tweet.