House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has raised more than $62M in the 2024 cycle so far
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is making moves to preserve his House majority in the upcoming 2024 election cycle by funneling cash into the campaign coffers of vulnerable Republicans, even if they have publicly opposed his leadership.
Protect The House 2024, a joint fundraising committee launched by McCarthy earlier this year, donated over $31,000 to Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., in late June despite her alliance with conservative members who have attempted to undercut McCarthy. Boebert’s 2022 race in her rural Colorado district ran unexpectedly close, as she won her first re-election by a margin of less than 1%. McCarthy’s own campaign committee also donated $2,000 to Boebert in June.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., a freshman Freedom Caucus member, received nearly $36,000 from Protect The House last month.
Both Boebert and Luna got nearly $100,000 from the McCarthy-aligned group in the first fundraising quarter.
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and groups aligned with him have donated millions to GOP candidates in vulnerable districts, the most recent election data show. (Getty Images)
Since winning the Speaker’s gavel in January, McCarthy has been accused of acquiescing to the right at the expense of GOP members in swing districts. However, the latest Federal Election Commission data shows McCarthy spending big to shield more moderate lawmakers from local challenges.
In addition to members like Boebert, Luna and House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry, R-Pa., McCarthy and his aligned groups have given cash to Republicans who have been put in a tough spot with votes on conservative-backed legislation this year. That includes the group of New York Republicans who were essential to the GOP flipping the House last year.
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Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., a freshman who unseated a top House Democrat, got more than $110,000 from McCarthy’s Protect The House in June. He also got a $2,000 donation from McCarthy’s campaign.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is among those who got the funds but has publicly opposed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the past. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Reps. Nick LaLota, Anthony D'Esposito, and Brandon Williams similarly saw hefty donations from McCarthy, Protect The House and the GOP leadership-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund.
McCarthy made similar moves to protect California Republicans, several of whom represent districts won by President Biden in 2020.
Other McCarthy allies like Reps. John James, R-Mich., and Jen Kiggans, R-Va., whose districts are ranked as leaning Republican by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, got more than $100,000 from McCarthy-aligned sources last month.
Four-term Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a moderate and a reliable McCarthy ally, got more than $117,000 this last quarter from the speaker and aligned groups.
New York Republicans who were essential to the House GOP clinching its majority, like Reps. Nick LaLota, Anthony D'Esposito, and Brandon Williams, also saw their coffers cushioned by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
McCarthy, a longtime prolific fundraiser for the House GOP, announced last week that he brought in $62.5 million for the 2024 election cycle so far, including $21.7 million in the second quarter. He transferred nearly $18 million to House Republicans’ campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee.
"As we continue to build on the historic successes of this Republican majority the campaign to protect and expand the House majority is gaining momentum," he said last week. "Over the past six months, we have delivered historic spending cuts, worked to defend the border, and continued to investigate the Biden administration's detrimental actions to the American public. The American people are responding to these accomplishments with an outpouring of support to advance this mission, and we plan on delivering for the country."
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital.
