Former President Donald Trump and the RNC raised over $50 million within a day after the Manhattan district attorney, funded in part by left-wing activists, used legal tactics to secure a conviction against Trump. However, this money will only be impactful if it’s utilized to mobilize voters.
The Trump campaign, along with the RNC, reported raising $141 million in donations for May. Of this sum, over $50 million was raised within 24 hours post-conviction. An additional $150 million was raised by groups supporting Trump in May, according to his campaign.
The significant fundraising reflects a swell of support for Trump, but he remains far from a guaranteed victory in November. The election will demand focused voter turnout efforts to counter the Democrats’ extensive ballot operations.
Where Is the Money Going?
RNC co-chair Lara Trump told CNN that the funds would be aimed at ensuring a successful outcome on November 5. When asked about using the donations for Trump’s legal fees, she emphasized the efforts to counteract several legal cases aimed at draining Trump’s finances and resources.
Axios reported that Trump’s team is currently more focused on an extensive network of ‘election integrity’ lawyers and poll watchers, rather than field organizers. An anonymous committee official indicated that the RNC plans to prioritize hiring for this operation over other departments.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez disputed Axios’ report, highlighting the RNC’s new joint “Trump Force 47” initiative, which collaborates with grassroots organizations to recruit, train, and organize volunteers dedicated to voter turnout in their precincts.
In a press release, Political Director James Blair stated that the program emphasizes volunteers performing high-impact tasks rather than overloading a few volunteers with low-impact duties.
The “Trump Force 47” initiative encourages volunteers to engage in activities such as targeted voter outreach, poll watching, and distributing yard signs.
Also, on Tuesday, Team Trump announced the launch of “Swamp The Vote USA,” which aims to promote absentee and mail ballots, along with early in-person voting as part of Trump Force 47.
The Trump Force 47 program integrates Swamp The Vote USA by employing personalized voter contacts to generate new absentee or mail ballot registrations and early in-person voting commitments, according to a press release.
When asked about the allocation of funds toward Trump Force 47, Alvarez mentioned that the amount would be “enough” but did not disclose specifics to the media.
Politico reported that the effort will be led by paid staff in battleground states who will organize unpaid grassroots activists.
“Trump Force 47” complements the RNC’s April effort announced in April, focusing on recruiting poll watchers, observers, and lawyers. When previously questioned about their ground campaign in key swing states, the RNC and Team Trump pointed to the poll watcher volunteer effort.
But poll watchers and observers are only effective if ballots are present.
In Arizona, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club is working on voter outreach efforts, but the RNC’s participation seems limited. According to Club President Scot Mussi, it feels like national groups, including the RNC, aren’t emphasizing ground efforts as much as left-wing groups.
In Pennsylvania, Republican leaders also hope for increased RNC involvement. When asked by The Truth Voices, the RNC did not provide detailed information on efforts to boost voter registration, support mail-in ballot initiatives, and enhance voter outreach.
Democrats Are Playing To Win
On the other hand, Democrats have been ramping up on-the-ground efforts to maximize voter turnout while leveraging figures like Marc Elias to influence election laws.
For instance, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party established over a dozen offices in collaboration with the Biden campaign back in March, according to the Pennsylvania Capital Star. These offices are hosting volunteer training sessions, canvassing events, and recruitment activities.
Democrats aren’t just using donations to mobilize voters but also utilizing your taxpayer dollars through “Bidenbucks.”
Democratic state officials are driving efforts to engage favorable voter groups, such as young voters, using taxpayer-funded initiatives. For example, Arizona partnered with the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge to boost student voter turnout, a project of the Civic Nation nonprofit, which is headed by a former Obama senior adviser.
Universities participating in this initiative can earn “awards based on voter turnout and registration rates” for the Nov. 5 election. Federal law prohibits making payments to incentivize voting, as Fleetwood notes.
Nevada and Michigan have similarly launched initiatives to increase youth voter participation.
In the 2022 midterms, voters aged 18-29 overwhelmingly supported Democratic House candidates nearly 2-to-1 over Republicans, according to estimates from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.
Additionally, the Department of Education, aligning with the “Bidenbucks” directive, issued a memo in February authorizing the use of Federal Work-Study funds for activities like voter registration, voter assistance, and poll working.
