Kevin McCarthy spent years raising mountains of Republican campaign cash, flying around the country to recruit top candidates in key districts and painstakingly building political relationships as he worked his way toward becoming speaker of the House.
Now that he’s been ousted from the post after less than nine months, some in the GOP are wondering if anyone can take his place as a fundraising dynamo and party builder.
The House isn’t scheduled to vote on who could replace McCarthy until at least next week with all legislative work suspended as the chamber navigates a situation never before seen in the nation’s history. In the meantime, House Republicans have no clear leader heading into next year’s election as they cling to a razor-thin majority.
“Nobody can raise money like him,” said Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D. “And no matter who is the next speaker of the House, none of them can do what Kevin McCarthy did.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOP’s House campaign arm, postponed its upcoming fall gala in Dallas that McCarthy was supposed to headline. The committee said McCarthy helped it raise more than $40 million during the last election cycle and $20-plus million so far this cycle.
The leadership fund will shift its alignment to follow the new House speaker once one is elected. Paul Ryan replaced fellow Republican John Boehner in 2015. The GOP retained House control the following year when Donald Trump was elected president.
“Speaker McCarthy has fundamentally altered House elections for Republicans through his recruitment efforts, his unmatched fundraising prowess, and his ability to inspire and generate confidence among donors,” Congressional Leadership Fund President Dan Conston said in a statement. “While this is an obvious loss for the House, CLF remains laser-focused on our mission of holding radical Democrats accountable, protecting our vulnerable incumbents, and expanding the House Republican majority.”
As speaker and in his prior years leading the Republicans in the minority, McCarthy was viewed by many as less of a legislator and more of a political tactician who found strong Republican candidates and raised enough money to get them elected and to bolster the national party.
McCarthy visiting a district could often be a major draw, juicing fundraiser proceeds, though that’s a role any new House speaker can grow into.
A bigger test for the next speaker is whether they will be able to raise the same kind of sums as McCarthy for the party’s outside groups, which every year pour millions of dollars into advertising in key races, unburdened by contribution limits for individual campaigns.
