Trump campaign/ small-dollar donors/ Republican fundraising/ GOP over-solicitation/ 2024 election/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign faces a decline in small-dollar contributions amid donor fatigue and frustration with over-solicitation tactics from GOP fundraising. As his campaign relies more on high-dollar contributors, repeated appeals and confusion over donation recipients raise concerns about sustaining grassroots support.
Trump’s Declining Small-Donor Support: Quick Looks
- Sharp Drop in Small Donations: Fewer than one-third of Trump’s donations now come from small-dollar contributors.
- Donor Fatigue and Frustration: Constant texts and emails from various GOP candidates are pushing some donors away.
- Broader Party Concerns: GOP operatives warn that ongoing over-solicitation may alienate more grassroots donors.
- Economic Pressures: Trump’s campaign attributes some of the drop to inflation and tighter household budgets.
- Attempts to Address Issues: Trump’s team has sent warnings to prevent unauthorized use of his name in GOP fundraising.
Trump’s Small-Donor Fundraising Drops as Voters Face Fatigue
Deep Look
Donald Trump’s campaign for the 2024 U.S. presidential race faces a notable drop in small-dollar donations, with contributions from grassroots supporters significantly down from previous campaigns. In 2020, small-dollar donors made up nearly half of Trump’s fundraising, but now less than a third of contributions come from donors giving under $200, a decline that has forced his campaign to lean more on large donors and high-profile PACs.
Data from the Associated Press and OpenSecrets shows that, through June 2024, Trump raised $98 million from small-dollar contributors, a 40% decrease from the $165 million he collected during the same period in his last campaign. This decline comes as Democrats have seen a surge in small-dollar support, with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris raising an impressive $285 million from small donors since early 2023, representing over 40% of their fundraising.
GOP strategists worry this trend signals trouble for Republican fundraising more broadly. Some argue the relentless tactics used by party campaigns and conservative PACs, including frequent and aggressive emails and text messages, have alienated Trump’s grassroots base. Republican fundraising consultant John Hall explained, “Republican vendors have mistreated our donors to the point that many grassroots donors no longer want to give to us,” adding that over-solicitation leads to people being inundated with 30 to 50 text messages weekly, often from candidates they’ve never supported or even heard of.
The result, according to Hall and others, is widespread donor frustration. A recent poll by Apex Strategies found that over 70% of Republican donors said they continued receiving messages after asking to be removed from contact lists. Many donors feel neglected and, ultimately, unsure if their contributions are truly benefiting Trump’s campaign.
Several small-dollar donors shared their experiences, noting that excessive solicitations had deterred them from contributing. Susan Brito, 51, from Florida, gave modest amounts to Trump in previous years but has since ceased due to constant messages. “I’m disabled, and you are sending me text, after text, after text,” she told the AP, voicing her frustration with the seemingly endless requests. Similarly, Bill Ruggio, a 70-year-old Trump supporter, said that the flood of messages was so overwhelming that he’s started missing personal texts amid the clutter of political outreach.
The Trump campaign, for its part, attributes some of the decrease to economic pressures. Campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt pointed to economic factors, including high inflation, that have stretched Americans’ budgets, making contributions more difficult for many. “President Trump completely understands,” she said.
However, it wasn’t always this way. When Trump first ran for president in 2016, he tapped into a powerful small-donor base, outpacing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who had fewer small-dollar supporters. This advantage continued into the 2020 race, but the 2024 cycle has brought new complications, including an influx of solicitations from unaffiliated Republican groups.
This issue has prompted Trump’s team to take action, with the campaign sending a memo to GOP vendors in 2023 to limit using Trump’s name and image in fundraising efforts. Trump had also previously issued a cease-and-desist order to Republican committees in 2021, attempting to stop the unauthorized use of his name for fundraising purposes. Nonetheless, the impact of multiple competing Republican entities using Trump’s popularity in their own campaigns has led to donor confusion about who their money is actually supporting.
Economic pressures have also contributed to the overall decline. Stephen Buckhalter, a 78-year-old retired donor who supported Trump in past cycles, explained that inflation has left him with less disposable income to donate. “When you’re paying extra for food and gas and insurance… there’s not much left at the end of the month,” Buckhalter said. Despite pulling back on donations, he clarified that his support for Trump remains strong.
Trump’s campaign has seen temporary spikes in donations, such as after his felony conviction in May and a near-assassination attempt in July, but these moments have not reversed the larger trend of donor fatigue and skepticism.
As the 2024 election intensifies, Republicans face a complex challenge in balancing effective fundraising strategies with maintaining the goodwill of their grassroots supporters. Without a recalibrated approach, Trump’s reliance on large donors and high-value contributors could risk undermining his populist image and the broader GOP’s standing with small-dollar donors.
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