Republicans Have a Small-Dollar Donor Problem. Can They Fix it?

Vulnerable House Republicans are outraising their Democratic counterparts. But Democrats still have a key advantage in the money race: small-dollar donors.

An analysis of first-quarter fundraising reports by Eric Wilson, the executive director of the Center for Campaign Innovation, found that House Democrats raised twice as much on average from unitemized contributions – those under $200 – as Republicans did in the first three months of the year. Eighteen percent of House Democrats’ average quarterly fundraising came from unitemized contributions compared to just 9 percent for Republicans.

The divide is even starker in the Senate. Forty-four percent of Democrats’ average quarterly fundraising came from small-dollar donors. Among Senate Republicans, it was just 5 percent.

Wilson said that should be a warning sign for the GOP. While the party’s most vulnerable incumbents may be off to a strong start, their fundraising lead isn’t built to last, he said.

“If you look at just the press releases and the fundraising reports and total cash on hand, it’ll say Republicans are doing a much better job,” Wilson, a Republican, told C&E. “But the reason that unitemized number is so alarming is that they’re going to get more bites of the apple with those unitemized donors. Republicans put up big numbers from big donors but they can’t go back to those people.” 

Democrats have long held an advantage when it comes to small-dollar fundraising, thanks in part to the fact that the party began prioritizing online fundraising years before Republicans ever did. 

But Wilson said that’s hardly an excuse for the GOP nowadays. The party launched WinRed – the right’s answer to the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue – in 2019, yet continues to trail Democrats when it comes to small-dollar contributions.

Taking a Page Out of Democrats’ Playbook

Instead, Wilson said, Republicans need to take a page out of Democrats’ fundraising playbook. In an op-ed published this week by the Washington Reporter, Wilson argued that Democrats are “more effective” in coordinating their fundraising efforts across the party. He pointed to Democrats’ fundraising bonanza in the days following Sen. Cory Booker’s, D-N.J., 25-hour speech on the Senate floor – a fundraising push that benefited Democrats across the board.

There’s nothing stopping Republicans from copying that strategy, Wilson said.

“We have the know-how and the technical ability to do it. It’s a lack of will,” Wilson said. “We’re going to keep getting outraised and outspend until we figure out we have to work together.”

What’s more, he said, Republicans have a baked-in advantage when it comes to coordinating fundraising efforts around big moments, because they’re the ones in power in Washington.

“You control the calendar. You control the agenda,” Wilson said. “You should be able to market your success if you’re driving a message. It’s fundamentally a lack of discipline and commitment to running an effective partywide fundraising effort.”

Addressing Donor Fatigue

Another factor that may be impacting small-dollar fundraising is donor fatigue, Wilson said. Simply put, many donors feel burnt out and overwhelmed by constant emails and text messages pleading for money. And while Wilson noted that it’s an issue that both Republicans and Democrats face, he said that campaigns should be more strategic and data-minded in how they approach fundraising solicitations.

In other words, he said: “If someone has been on your list for years and has donated multiple times, but has never donated on a Saturday or Sunday, why are you sending them emails on a Saturday or Sunday?”

Wilson said that campaigns should look toward other fundraising models. The Democratic-aligned group EMILY’s List, for example, launched a program earlier this year dubbed “Friends of the List” that allows grassroots donors to sign up to give at least $15 a month in exchange for less-frequent fundraising texts and emails. Those donors are also given access to exclusive content, like interviews with EMILY’s List staffers and updates on how the group is spending its money.

Not a Universal Concern

Not all Republicans share Wilson’s worries about the party’s small-dollar fundraising prowess. Mike Hahn, the president of digital strategy and operations at Frontline Strategies, shrugged off Democrats’ unitemized contributions advantage as being of little concern for the GOP overall.

For one, he said, it’s still early – the 2026 midterms are still a year and a half away – and many small-dollar donors haven’t tuned back into politics yet. Hahn also argued that it’s easier for Democrats to solicit small-dollar contributions right now because they’re in the minority in Washington and can more effectively rile up their donor base.

“I feel like it’s the same song and dance every offer where everyone is kind of bed wetting a bit,” Hahn told C&E. “Don’t forget that we’re still in May of 2025 and it’s really hard to fundraise when you’ve won everything.”