Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images, Joe Raedle/Getty Images
- The National Republican Senatorial Committee raised around 50% more than it did in January 2019
- Even in the aftermath of the Capitol siege, the committee raised $100,000 online daily in January.
- The news comes despite companies including Marriot and Amazon pulling funding to some GOP lawmakers.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
The campaign arm of the Senate GOP raised $8.33 million in January 2021, it said Tuesday.
This is despite dozens of companies, including Marriot and Amazon, pulling funding to some GOP lawmakers in the wake of the Capitol siege.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) raised around 50% more than it did in January 2019.
Around half of this January’s fundraising was raised online, where donations averaged $32, it said. The committee raised more than $100,000 online every day in January – including in the immediate aftermath of the Capitol siege and then President Donald Trump’s second impeachment by the House of Representatives.
Of the $8.33 million raised by the committee in January, $6.82 million was donated following the Republicans’ unsuccessful Georgia runoffs, which caused it to lose its Senate majority, the NRSC said.
In total, almost 90,000 people donated to the committee in January. Around 1 in 10 were first-time donors, it said.
The committee says it is "solely devoted to strengthening the Republican Senate Majority and electing Republicans to the United States Senate."
Despite many Republicans' efforts to distance themselves from Trump, the NRSC has still been featuring the former president in its fundraising appeals, Forbes reported. Hours before Trump's impeachment trial began, the committee sent members a text, saying: "INSANITY: The Dems are trying to impeach Pres. Trump," and urging supporters to donate, the publication said.
The committee, however, says its donations are proof that Americans are unhappy with the Democrats' leadership.
"Bolstered by our strength in low-dollar donations, the NRSC is well-equipped to get our message out, support our Republican candidates, and fight in the trenches in states across the country," Florida Senator Rick Scott, who chairs the committee, said in a press release Tuesday.
"While we know the Democrats' support for Socialism, higher taxes, more regulation, bigger government, and cancel culture is bad for America, it's certainly motivated patriotic Americans across the country to support the fight for freedom and opportunity."
Retail, tech, and financial giants pulled PACs following the Capitol siege
Congress met January 6 to certify the results of the 2020 US presidential election. Fueled by months of conspiracy theories and baseless allegations of election fraud pushed by President Donald Trump and his backers, rioters stormed the Capitol and delayed the process for a couple of hours. Five people died during the siege.
Congress ultimately voted to certify Biden's win, but eight Republican senators and 139 representatives rejected some of the results. Among them were Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. Several other GOP lawmakers had suggested they would object but reversed course after the riot.
In response, companies including Amazon, Marriott, Morgan Stanley, Walmart, and Dow said they would stop political donations to the Republicans who backed Trump's election challenge.
Penn State professor Donald Hambrick told Insider that senators who backed Trump's election challenge might rethink their stance on impeachment after losing this corporate funding.
"These corporations could have a substantial effect on senators' votes," he said.
Other companies, such as JPMorgan, Citibank, Microsoft, and Facebook, said they would instead temporarily pause all political donations to both Republicans and Democrats.