(AP Images)
For many years now, Republicans observed Democratic nominees — Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton — fuel their presidential aspirations through small-donor funds. This year-round, the GOP establishment witnessed a boom in their balance sheet as presidential nominee Donald Trump unleashed a barrage of small-dollar donations, as reported by Politico.
Trump, who explored every possibility to bring in funds into the campaign, crushed all historic fundraising records for small (under $200/per) donations as he amassed over 2.1 million individual small donations in 3 months.
The Republican nominee is all set to reveal the financial status later this week, Politico reports.
According to an analysis from available Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, Trump’s success overshadows his GOP predecessors.
John McCain and Mitt Romney, in 2008 and 2012, respectively, raised just less than $64 million in contributions under $200, according to FEC records (McCain, notably, accepted public funds in the 2008 general election).
However, Trump still has a long way to go in comparison to the Democrats. While President Obama raised an enormous $483.6 million in contributions of less than $200 in 2012, Sanders raised almost $202 million in small donations just during the 2016 primary.
Meanwhile, Clinton got almost $156 million in such contributions by the end of July.
The achievement, nonetheless, is hailed as it highlights Trumps ability to accumulate such a huge sum in a span of less than 3 months. Trump signed his first email solicitation for donors on June 21.
Hillary and Bill Clinton’s small donor base is $2.3 million, as accumulated over their political lifetimes and decades of campaigning. Trump amassed a group of $2.1 million small donor contributors since July.
A senior Republican official, who was closely involved with the small-dollar fundraising project, lauded Trumps efforts, saying, “I’ve never seen anything like this. He’s the Republican Obama in terms of online fundraising.”
Now, what next for the GOP?
As per a deal struck in May between the Republican National Committee and Trump, 20 percent of the proceeds from its small-donor operation will go to the committee.
“The challenge is that we still have a divided party,” said Mindy Finn, who led Romney’s digital team in 2008 and worked for George W. Bush’s reelection in 2004.
Earlier, Trump boasted he was “above the GOP establishment” and didn’t need its money or aid, and he would self-finance his presidential aspirations.
Owing to his celebrity status and anti-establishment populism, Trump overcame a skeletal campaign to successfully lure contributors.
“People are pouring in and we’re having to manage the inflow,” said one of the operatives familiar with the Trump operation.
Trump is spending big in the hope of getting more gains. In July, he spent nearly $8.4 million on online advertising and luring prospective donors. Trump close aides in the advertising sector say that his campaign asked digital vendors to run as many Facebook and Google ads as possible.
“We’ve had a positive ROI on everything,” said one Trump campaign official.
The Republican nominee’s campaign also ensures to monetize on the Trump brandname by offering dinner with Trump, coffee with Ivanka Trump and lunch with Eric Trump.
Others too fall in the same business. The National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of Senate Republicans, too has been coming up with Trump-Pence yard signs, bumper stickers, bracelets, magnets and t-shirts.