When Reince Priebus became chairman of the Republican National Committee in January, it was $24 million in debt and had only $350,000 in cash on hand. By the end of March, however, the debt had dropped to $19.8 million and the cash had grown to $3.2 million. Last quarter, in fact, the GOP raised $17.7 million in total.
“We had a good first quarter,” Priebus tells National Review Online, “because we spent a lot of time on the phones, rebuilding trust and reinvigorating our major-donor program, which I think needed some TLC. We’re providing that every single day here and building that network.”
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that because of the GOP’s lackluster presidential field, top donors have been reluctant to give. Priebus quibbles with that argument: “I think people are motivated to try and recapture the very idea of America that people are fearful we’re losing under this president. The RNC is the only committee in America that can fully coordinate legally with a presidential candidate and our donors understand it. So having a fully functional and operational RNC is paramount to defeating President Obama.”
And he predicts, “Our cash on hand will grow obviously. We’re not going backwards.”
Today, the Huffington Post reports that Priebus has been “exploring the implications of a Paul Ryan presidential run”:
Priebus has been seeking counsel since at least last week about what impact a Ryan presidential run would have on his own role at the RNC, sources told The Huffington Post. Other GOP hopefuls might object to someone so close to Ryan remaining as head of the party’s main fundraising and organizing arm. The Republican presidential nominee usually installs his own RNC chair for the general election.
Priebus, however, shrugs off the speculation. “I have the job of supporting whoever the Republican nominee is for president,” he says. “And I am going to work day in and out and twice on Sunday to put the RNC back on the rails so we can be a true partner for a presidential candidate to defeat Barack Obama.”