Data on donors dispels the GOP's claims about identifying with 'working class' voters

03 December 2022

bribery, corruption, money, cash

A new analysis is dispelling the Republican Party's claims to justify the mediocre small-dollar donations it received during the latest election cycle.

The Daily Beast's Roger Sollenberger noted that Republicans have been quick to insist inflation is to blame for the problem. “It’s gas or this donation; its vacation with our children or this donation,” Zac Moffatt, CEO of top GOP fundraising firm Targeted Victory, insisted back in July.

But, digging a bit deeper, Sollenberger has managed to uncover other complications that are likely contributing to the political party's small-dollar challenges.

The Daily Beast's new analysis of data on the party's donors indicates "the Republican fundraising base this year actually skews a bit wealthier than that of Democrats."

As part of a collaborative effort with the Sterling Data Company —artificial intelligence analytics firm— the news outlet found: "The results give Republican small-dollar donors a slightly higher average (mean) annual household income—$50,849—about $1,000 more than their Democratic counterparts, who clocked in at $49,747."

According to Sollenberger, the findings contradict the Republican Party's attempt to rebrand itself as the political party that identifies with working and middle-class Americans.

He noted, "Not only does that finding undercut the fundraising excuse, it also complicates the GOP’s attempt to rebrand as the party of the working and middle class—and to cast Democrats as the party of the wealthy elite of cities and suburbs."

Sollenberger also explained how the latest findings obscure the party's desired public projections. He wrote, "The fact that Republican small-dollar donors on average make a little more money than their Democratic counterparts suggests that, when it comes to funding party politics, the GOP does not have the working class dominance it likes to project."

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