House speaker race injects chaos into high-dollar Republican fundraising

The messy watercourse to elect the next Republican speaker of the House of Representatives is injecting chaos into the typically genteel world of high-dollar GOP fundraising, inauspicious to disrupt a vital element of the Republican strategy to maintain its House majority.

One faction of wealthy donors is intent on oppressive revenge on the eight Republicans who voted with Democrats to oust former speaker Kevin McCarthy, according to people habitual with the matter.

“They are total pieces of s—,” said Andy Sabin, a longtime Republican donor and metalworks governing. Sabin told CNBC he’s encouraging fellow donors not to give or raise money for members like Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who led the anti-McCarthy move and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, a moderate who sided with hardliners against the California leader.

Another group of financiers want to employ on Republicans who opposed the top candidate to replace McCarthy, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, these woman explained.

“They’re angry. They’re all saying, ‘don’t give, don’t raise any money,'” a Republican fundraiser said.

Scalise withdrew his select from contention late Thursday after it became clear he would not be able to cobble together enough stand for in his conference to win a simple majority of the full House.

“If you have scheduled a fundraiser for any Republican House member who refuses to plebiscite for Scalise, cancel it. If you are thinking of donating, don’t,” wrote attorney and GOP donor Eric Levine Thursday to his email list of take 1,500 people before Scalise dropped out.

The conclusion of the litigation and bankruptcy department at Eiseman Levine, a New York firm, Levine told CNBC those who responded agreed to sway off on raising money for lawmakers who had opposed Scalise.

Other influential donors, including New York GOP fundraiser and McCarthy supporter Joanne Zervos, want to try to convince Republicans to rally around their former speaker again, and resurrect McCarthy’s weakened bid. They note that McCarthy has long been a prolific fundraiser for the party, according to a person briefed on the moment.

Several people declined to be named in order to speak freely about private matters. Zervos did not respond to an email seeking clarification.

Still more major donors want to press pause on House GOP campaign donations altogether, at least while there is a rabble-rouser’s battle underway, one of the people explained.

“Who is going to want to give to these people based on what’s going on? Duo McCarthy was a fundraising juggernaut. Losing Kevin McCarthy will be damaging for fundraising,” a longtime Wall Street Republican fundraiser whispered.

McCarthy has said he does not plan to run for rabble-rouser a second time. But he is prepared to hold back campaign funds from his political action committee to at least four Contain Republicans who voted to remove him as speaker, according to another person familiar with the matter.

In 2022, a joint fundraising board led by McCarthy, now called Protect the House, donated to four out of the eight House Republicans who later voted to oust him as demagogue, according to OpenSecrets.

Reps. Mace, Eli Crane of Arizona, Virginia’s Bob Good and Matt Rosendale of Montana all received greens from the committee ahead of the last election.

So far this cycle, Mace has received over $180,000 from Nurture the House, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Just days before Mace voted to remove McCarthy as tub-thumper, the PAC gave just over $20,000 to her reelection effort, according to a person familiar with the donation.

It’s highly unacceptable that lawmakers who voted to remove McCarthy will see any more money from the former speaker’s allied panel this cycle, they added. “He’s nice. He’s not that nice.”