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- Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley saw a spike in grassroots donations to his campaign after he led the charge to overturn the 2020 election results.
- Hawley faced swift backlash from many of his colleagues, corporate donors, and even some allies in Missouri following the deadly Capitol siege.
- The 41-year-old right-wing populist is widely viewed as a likely 2024 presidential contender.
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Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who helped lead Congress’ failed effort to overturn the 2020 election results, raised more money in the month of January than he has since before he won his Senate seat in 2018, his campaign revealed in a new memo.
Hawley’s campaign raised $969,000 last month with an average donation of $52 and added 12,0000 new donors to its rolls. With the spike in grassroots donations, the ambitious 41-year-old senator now has $2.1 million in cash on hand.
This comes after Hawley led the charge in objecting to the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. The senator, a populist who has aligned himself closely with former President Donald Trump, faced swift backlash from many of his colleagues, corporate donors, and some allies in Missouri following the deadly Capitol siege.
“Despite the aggressive attacks by national Democrats, special interest groups, and many in the media, a strong majority of Missouri voters have rallied to Senator Hawley,” the senator’s pollster, Wes Anderson, wrote in the memo.
Hawley condemned the violence on January 6, but refused to apologize for his role in inciting the events. After the Capitol was breached, Hawley defied Senate GOP leadership and voted against the certification of Pennsylvania’s election results, pushing the ratification process until 3 am.
"I will never apologize for giving voice to the millions of Missourians and Americans who have concerns about the integrity of our elections," he said in a statement. "That's my job, and I will keep doing it."
In one of the most striking photos taken on January 6, Hawley was captured raising his fist in solidarity with the pro-Trump mob outside the Capitol before the attack began. The senator's campaign also sent out fundraising emails to supporters before and after the riot.
Some Democrats have called on Hawley and Sen. Ted Cruz, who also aggressively pushed to overturn the election, to resign and Senate Democrats have demanded an ethics investigation into both lawmakers.
Hawley, who previously served as Missouri's attorney general, is widely viewed as a likely 2024 presidential contender, but the senator recently told Insider that he's not running for president. Hawley has made similar promises in the past that he ultimately broke. While running for attorney general in 2016, he slammed "career politicians just climbing the ladder, using one office to get another." He launched his campaign for US Senate less than a year later.