According to a report in Politico, GOP plans to use online fundraising more effectively for 2020 candidates who are facing uphill battles is not panning out as they had hoped.
Recognizing that online fundraising is the wave of the future, GOP strategists have made stabs at bringing in more cash but have already fallen way behind their Democratic counterparts.
Noting, "The GOP has vowed to work harder to appeal to small-dollar donors after getting hit by a 'green wave' of Democratic online cash in 2018. But some of the most vulnerable Republican senators up for reelection in 2020 are off to a slow start," Politico adds, "Only two of the six most endangered Republican senators topped six figures in digital spending in the first quarter."
"On average, the GOP senators were outspent on Facebook ads prospecting for supporters, data from the social media network shows," the report states. "And every vulnerable Democratic incumbent raised more small-dollar money in the first three months of the 2020 election cycle."
According to the report, GOP strategists are panicking about the shortfall with memories of the 2018 midterm debacle --which led to Democrats reclaiming the House -- still fresh in their minds.
“We just know that the Democrats, through their online fundraising culture, are going to be able to bring millions of dollars out of nowhere at very short notice,” GOP digital strategist Eric Wilson lamented. “Republicans can't muster that. We have to take time to build these lists.”
According to the report, a handful of Republican senators, including Senators Cory Gardner (CO), Joni Ernst (IA) and Tom Tillis (NC) are lagging on the digital front.
“This could just be Republican campaigns keeping their powder dry for future opportunities. But this isn't something campaigns can afford to have to happen a year from now,” veteran GOP digital advisor Tim Cameron explained. “Campaigns still suffering from a digital spending deficit will probably regret not making earlier investments.”
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