RNC surpasses $250 million in fundraising for midterms

The RNC raised $16.4 million in August, and has $42 million on hand.

© Provided by The HillRNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel

By Lisa Hagen,The Hill

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has raised more than $250 million this cycle, hitting another fundraising record with less than two months to go until the pivotal midterm elections.

An RNC official told The Hill that the committee will report $16.4 million raised in August, which is the RNC's largest monthly haul of the cycle. That brings the national party's total fundraising to $252 million as of Wednesday.

The RNC ends the month of August with nearly $42 million in the bank, surpassing how much the national party had on hand at this point in the 2016 presidential cycle.

"Enthusiasm for President Trump and his successful agenda is fueling our record-breaking fundraising and energizing our grassroots supporters," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement to The Hill.

"With less than 50 days until the midterm elections we have built the largest ground game ever, and we are ready to defy history on November 6th."

Republicans are looking to preserve their majorities in Congress during a challenging midterm cycle, with an uptick in Democratic enthusiasm and the president facing underwater approval ratings.

The party faces an uphill battle in the House, where Democrats need to flip 23 seats to reclaim the majority. Republicans have a better shot of keeping their narrow Senate majority, but the fight for the upper chamber has become more of a nail-biter with polling showing a number of competitive races in a dead heat.

The RNC's fundraising chops have helped them build a big data-focused field operation. The national party plans to spend $250 million to protect majorities in both chambers.

The committee says it has 540 paid staffers working in 28 states. The RNC has made 38 million voter contacts through phones and canvassing.

The RNC has repeatedly outraised the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which has yet to release its August numbers. The GOP committee has outpaced its Democratic counterpart for 16 consecutive months.

The DNC has raised about $116 million from January 2017 until July 2018, and ended that month with $7.8 million in the bank.