'A slow-moving trainwreck': Republicans scrambling for campaign cash as 2020 election prospects look bleak

According to a report in Politico, Republican lawmakers are falling behind their Democratic counterparts when it comes to cash needed for November's election, causing worries about the 2022 midterms and beyond if there is a 2020 wipeout.

The report begins by noting that Republicans were served with a major warning last month that fundraising was lagging and that Democrats were using a superior digital strategy to fill their coffers for what is expected to be a brutal last few months before election day.

According to the report, the slideshow shown to lawmakers "painted a grim picture of the GOP’s long-running problem. Republican senators and challengers lagged behind Democrats by a collective $30 million in the first quarter of 2020."

"The money guarantees Democrats nothing heading into November 2020," the report continues. "But with President Donald Trump’s poll numbers sagging and more GOP-held Senate races looking competitive, the intensity of Democrats’ online fundraising is close to erasing the financial advantage incumbent senators usually enjoy. That’s making it harder to bend their campaigns away from the national trend lines — and helping Democrats’ odds of flipping the Senate."

The report goes on to note that National Republican Senatorial Committee staffers were told that make a concerted effort to increase their online efforts and find new donors because "the outlook was bleak not just for 2020, but for 2022 and 2024."

According to Eric Wilson, a Republican consultant who was behind Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's digital operation, the GOP is facing a disaster in the making.

“It’s a slow-moving trainwreck. The warning signs are flashing right now, and they’re ignoring it,” he explained.

Defending against reports that Democratic Senate contenders in 10 out of 12 races have outraised their opponents, Kevin McLaughlin, executive director of the NRSC admitted, "Some GOP Senate candidates have made great strides online, but we’re still light-years away from where we need to be as a party."

“2020 should serve as a canary in the coal mine to anyone on the ballot in 2022 and beyond," he cautioned. "They have a simple choice: Adapt immediately or find a new job. We have better resources than Democrats, but they don’t do any good if no one uses them.”

Corry Bliss, executive director of Republican Congressional Leadership Fund, agreed, adding, "[Democrats] are better at online fundraising than we are — period," while saying Republicans only need look at what happened in 2018's so-called 'blue wave" election that saw Democrats take control of the House.

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