Which Members Of Congress Raised The Most Money So Far This Cycle? And Where's It Coming From?

Steny Hoyer brought in big dough this cycle-- and not one penny of it came from a small donor

The champ among House members is Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI-- $5,031,066), although that was raised for-- and because of-- a presidential campaign. When she drops out, anything that's left can be used to help her retain her House seat. (She has a tough primary back home, which she's in danger of losing.) After Tulsi, we're in crooked GOP territory: minority whip Steve Scalise (R-LA-- $2,455,739), minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-- $2,243,232) and Bradley Byrne (R-AL-- $2,061,797), a former conservative Democrat, who jumped the fence in 1997, and is now running for the U.S. Senate, which is why he's been able to raise so much money.

Adam Schiff (New Dem-CA-- $1,868,232) comes in at #5, raising money to run for Dianne Feinstein's Senate seat when she retires (likely soon). Then we get Pelosi ($1,324,392), Devin Nunes (R-CA-- $1,216,780) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA-- $1,111,891).

The freshmen bringing in the big bucks (over $500,000) are:

#10- Josh Harder (D-CA)- $865,490
#11- Ilhan Omar (D-MN)- $826,935
#13- Antonio Delgado (D-NY)- $746,083
#14- AOC (D-NY)- $725,316
#15- Roger Marshall (R-KS)- $705,626
#18- Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)- $631,454
#21- Max Rose (Blue Dog-NY)- $596,599
#22- Katie Hill (New Dem-CA)- $596,256
#24- Haley Stevens (New Dem-MI)- $571,867
#26- Tom Malinowski (New Dem-NJ)- $560,693
#27- Andy Kim (D-NJ)- $553,057
#30- Mikie Sherrill (Blue Dog-NJ)-$542,548
#32- Elissa Sltkin (New Dem-MI)- $534,877
#33- Colin Allred (New Dem-TX)- $526,395
#36- Lizzie Fletcher (New Dem-TX)- $515,846

So what happened with the missing slots? Those mostly belong to members of Democratic leadership like:

#16- Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)- $698,624
#17- Steny Hoyer (D-MD)- $651,296
#28- Jim Clyburn (D-SC)- $549,786
#34- Richard Neal (D-MA)- $520,683
#38- Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)- $506,858

and to Republicans who know they're extremely vulnerable:

#20- Andy Barr (R-KY)- $598,034
#23- Lee Zeldin (R-NY)- $592,469
#25- Vern Buchanan (R-FL)- $562,850
#29- Steve Stivers (R-OH)- $548,343
#31- Rodney Davis (R-IL)- $540,761
#35 Will Hurd (R-FL)- $519,258
#37- Ann Wagner (R-MO)- $514,069
#39- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)- $502,564

Below is a piece by Ed Kilgore in New York Magazine, Bad Boys Nunes, King, and Hunter Dominate House GOP Small-Dollar Fundraising. Before we look at it, let's remember this list of incumbents and candidates who have raked in big money AND who are getting most of it from small donors ($200 or less). This represents the total raised and the percent coming from small donors:

• AOC- $725,316 (81.5%)
• Bernie- $20,661,121 (74.0%)
• John Lewis- $399,088 (67.6%)
• McKinsey Pete- $7,068,589 (64.2%)
• Gym Jordan- $478,798 (63.0%)
• Matt Gaetz- $161,519 (61.0%)
• Beto- $9,311,474 (59.5%)
• Devin Nunes- $1,216,780 (58.6%)
• Jeff Merkley- $5,507,896 (57.9%)
• Doug Jones- $26,667,345 (52.6%)
• Adam Schiff- $1,868,232 (51.8%)
• Ilhan Omar- $826,933 (50.1%)

Those 12 office-holders are the only ones who raised over half their contributions from small donors. There are many members of Congress who raise no money at all from small donors-- and far more who bring in a minuscule amount from small donors-- less than 1%. The ones who are raising big money from all big donors are the most corrupt members of Congress, the ones who should be hauled away immediately and thrown in prison. This list is only the ones who have raised over $200,000 this quarter with either less than one percent coming from small donors or zero coming from small donors:

• Steve Watkins (R-KS)- $207,519 (0.9%)
• Greg Meeks (New Dem-NY)- $227,824 (0.8%)
• Van Taylor (R-TX)- $499,946 (0.8%)
• Jerry Carl (R-AL candidate)- $387,592 (0.8%)
• Richard Hudson (R-NC)- $424,434 (0.7%)
• Jackie Walorski (R-IN)- $323,848 (0.7%)
• Mac Thornberry (R-TX)- $200,233 (0.7%)
• Dan Sullivan (R-AK)- $2,710,336 (0.7%)
• Jim Inhofe (R-OK)- $1,579,906 (0.7%)
• David Rouzer (R-NC)- $231,730 (0.6%)
• Karen Bass (D-CA)- $267,342 (0.6%)
• Roger Williams (R-TX)- $201,419 (0.6%)
• John Delaney (New Dem)- $12,103,495 (0.6%)
• Jim Oberweis (R-IL)- $207,450 (0.6%)
• David Schweikert (R-AZ)- $248,579 (0.4%)
• Jim Risch (R-ID)- $513,238 (0.4%)
• Greg Walden (R-OR)- $327,344 (0.4%)
• Collin Peterson (Blue Dog-MN)- $281,769 (0.3%)
• Filemon Vela (Blue Dog-TX)- $271,168 (0.3%)
• Mike Gallagher (R-WI)- $369,802 (0.3%)
• Michael McCaul (R-TX)- $229,420 (0.3%)
• Frank Pallone (D-NJ)- $466,365 (0.2%)
• Vern Buchanan (R-FL)- $562,850 (0.2%)
• Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)- $256,950 (0.2%)
• Andy Barr (R-KY)- $598,034 (0.5%)
• Richard Neal (D-MA)- $520,683 (0.2%)
• Ann Wagner (R-MO)- $514,069 (0.2%)
• Jason Smith (R-MO)- $210,636 (0.2%)
• Tom Reed (R-NY)- $347,046 (0.2%)
• Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH)- $209,737 (0.2%)
• Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA)- $437,077 (0.2%)
• Kevin Brady (R-TX)- $434,093 (0.2%)
• Roger Masrhall (R-KS)- $705,626 (0.1%)
• Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)- $410,737 (0.1%, which is $367)
• Mike Enzi (R-WY)- $442,963 (0.1%)
• Michael Turner (R-OH)- $210,478 (0.1%)
• Steve Stivers (R-OH)- $548,343 (0.1%)
• David Trone (New Dem-MD)- $380,476 (0%)
• Patrick McHenry (R-NC)- $258,226 (0%)
• French Hill (R-AR)- $304,418 (0%)
• Ross Spano (R-FL)- $223,969 (0%)
• Tom Graves (R-GA)- $263,461 (0%)
• Lori Trahan (D-MA)- $390,294 (0%)
• Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)- $326,283 (0%)
• Sam Graves (R-MO)- $325,490 (0%)
• Kenny Marchant (R-TX)- $237,395 (0%)
• Ron Kind (New Dem-WI)- $215,648 (0%)
• William Timmons (R-SC)- $384,242 (0%)
• Steny Hoyer (D-MD)- $651,296 (0%)

This cycle Hoyer has a primary challenge from McKayla Wilkes. While 0% of his money came from small donors, 100% of hers did.

Now, to Ed Kilgore at New York, who had something to say about a certain type of recipients of small donor money. "When you think about grassroots small-dollar political fundraising, you generally figure the best-positioned beneficiaries are charismatic figures like Beto O’Rourke or 'movement' leaders like Bernie Sanders (or those like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who are both). That still seems to be true on the left. But among House Republicans, a different dynamic seems to be in play, as the dominant small-dollar fundraisers are highly controversial figures you probably wouldn’t want in your living room."

As the Daily Beast reports, three House Republicans are hoovering up an estimated 80 percent of under-$200 donations:

We examined first-quarter fundraising numbers for every incumbent on the Cook Political Report’s list of competitive 2020 House races-- 52 Democrats and 35 Republicans in all. [Devin] Nunes, [Steve] King, and [Duncan] Hunter are the only congressmen of either party who got more than half of all their individual contributions in Q1 in the form of unitemized donations, or donations of less than $200.

It seems that rank-and-file GOP activists have a refined taste for attack-dog conspiracy theorists like Nunes, racists like King, and corruption suspects like Hunter.

Nunes is by far the most prolific small-dollar fundraiser of the candidates we examined. He’s become a household name among the GOP grassroots for his strident support of President Trump as the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. And the bulk of his huge first-quarter small-dollar haul came through fundraising appeals invoking his longshot lawsuit against Twitter and a number of his parodic detractors on the platform.

King, for his part, has a committed grassroots following among voters who don’t mind that he has played footsie with white supremacy. And Hunter is currently under federal indictment over allegations that he misused campaign funds, but has managed to turn that into a fundraising pitch that portrays him as a victim of a liberal conspiracy.

King, of course, is in a class of his own as a wingnut pariah, having been stripped of his committee assignments by a House GOP leadership that tolerates a lot of dodgy racially tinged rhetoric. As he battles a primary challenge, he retains the loyal support of many conservative activists. Hunter is just one of those periodic scofflaws who tries to cover his ethical lapses by claiming politically motivated persecution. And Nunes’s appeal is a testament to the emotional power of intense, take-no-prisoners partisan polarization.

Perhaps in time House Republican celebrities will emerge who are beloved for their ideas or their sound character or their leadership qualities. But for now, being a bad boy is the ticket.