House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy raised more than $20 million in 2017, a hefty haul that the California Republican is putting to work to re-elect his colleagues in the midterm campaign.
McCarthy's strong off-year fundraising was capped by $4 million in the final three months of the year and fueled by an October swing through California with Vice President Mike Pence that raked in $5 million.
Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, has been bragging to colleagues that McCarthy raised three times as much as was ever collected by any Republican House majority leader in a single year.
“The leader has been cultivating donors for years, he takes this very seriously,” said Mike Shields, a veteran Republican operative, in an interview. “He is a politically minded leader — he understands what having those relationships mean and how much that contributes to the cause.”
Among House Republican leaders, only Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin outpaced McCarthy. McCarthy, 52, is a close ally of President Trump and now in his 12th year in Congress. Ryan raised $44 million last year. The funds are crucial, as House Republicans move to withstand strong, anti-Trump headwinds threatening to sweep out the GOP majority in this fall.
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01.23.2025