Republican Leader Warns of ‘Real Problem’ Heading Into Election

Jason Thielman, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), warned on Friday about a “real problem” of cash flow when it comes to the GOP’s ability to maintain momentum going into this year’s election.
Control of the Senate is up for grabs this year as Democrats and Republicans view themselves as having a chance of winning a majority. Democrats are defending several seats in competitive states, meaning they must hold onto nearly every seat they currently have to maintain a majority. Democrats currently hold 51 seats, including four independents who caucus with the party, while Republicans hold 49.
To take full control of the Senate, Republicans must flip only two seats, with Ohio and Montana as their primary targets. With Senator Joe Manchin retiring, West Virginia, one of the most conservative states in the country, is expected to strengthen the GOP’s position, making a majority more likely. Elsewhere, Democrats are defending seats in Republican-leaning Montana and Ohio, as well as battling for victory in races in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“With that West Virginia seat, the starting line for the battle for the Senate is 50-50. Even if Democrats hold every other seat, if Republicans take the White House, that means they also take the Senate,” Susan Davis, political correspondent on The NPR Politics Podcast, recently said.
According to the Associated Press on Friday, Thielman warned that the “real problem” for the Republican Party amid the 2024 election is a significant financial disadvantage compared to their Democratic counterparts.
“We are on track to flip the Senate,” Thielman said, adding that the Democrats’ “massive cash advantage is a real problem. The biggest thing preventing Senate Republicans from having a great night in November is the cash crunch.”
Newsweek has reached out to the NRSC via email for comment.
Thielman is not the first to raise concerns. Speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Montana Senator Steve Daines, a Trump ally who heads the NRSC, the campaign arm, stated, “We have a lot of work to do…There’s a lot of handwringing going on and a lot of anxiousness about where this election is headed.”
In response to Thielman’s remarks, in an emailed statement to Newsweek on Saturday, DSCC spokesperson Tommy Garcia took aim at the NRSC and said, “The NRSC’s problem isn’t just money – it’s the deeply flawed candidates they recruited.”
Democrats have seen a surge in energy and resources following Vice President Kamala Harris’ replacement of Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee. She will face off against former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, in November.
This shift has left Republicans scrambling to keep pace, particularly in advertising and grassroots organizing.
According to the AP, the DSCC posted record online fundraising in the days after Harris’ campaign announcement and her team sent $25 million to down-ballot races, including $10 million each this past week to the House and Senate committees.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesperson Viet Shelton said grassroots enthusiasm to elect a Democratic House majority is “at an all-time high, adding that voters want to elect “get-stuff-done incumbents” not a “rag-tag group” of Republican candidates aligned with Trump, the AP reported.
Meanwhile, the GOP is still fighting to regain momentum, particularly in Senate races where they hoped to challenge Democratic incumbents in key battlegrounds in states like Montana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio as both parties poured millions into TV ads and ground campaigns.
In addition, House Republicans have propped up dozens of “Battle Stations” for voter outreach and get-out-the-vote efforts, the AP reported.
This comes after August polling from conservative polling company Rasmussen Reports shows Republican candidates trailing Democrats in pivotal U.S. Senate races in Arizona, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Update: 9/7/24, 5:35 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from DSCC spokesperson.