TTT Reporting
Dec 12, 2023
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson has only been in office for a little over one month after the historic ousting of previous Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Before becoming the House Speaker, Johnson had never managed to raise more than $1.3 million for any campaign which led many experts to question his ability to lead the House GOP caucus.
However, despite his inexperience, Johnson managed to break the Republican fundraising record previously set by McCarthy. In November, Johnsons first full month in office, the National Republican Congressional Committee announced that it had brought in $9 million in donations. This is nearly $1.8 million more than the group’s “offyear November record” from 2021.
Given Johnson’s lack of history winning over big donors, many experts were unsure how he’d perform with his new House fundraising duties after winning the Speakership. Roughly a week after becoming speaker, Johnson sent out a fundraising email in which he adamantly refused to “put people over politics.”
At the start of December, he also faced criticism from the Human Rights Campaign after stating during a NRCC fundraising pitch that he feared “America may be beyond redemption” citing the number of youth who don’t identify as “straight.”
However, during his short career in the House, Johnson has managed to win several elections despite his previous inability to raise more than $1.3 million in contributions. In fact, he had only reported raising just over $500,000 for the upcoming 2024 election.
The National Republican Congressional Committee noted that not all of the extra $2 million came from Republican voters. They attributed some of the success to the “rank and file members” in the House, stating that they played a huge role in the dramatic donation haul this year. Additionally, Johnson quickly brought in one of McCarthy’s top fundraising officials to his team after being elected House Speaker.
The National Republican Congressional Committee’s record-breaking November gains are still notable given Johnson’s lack of prior fundraising experience.