Recently, a divided Supreme Court struck down the limit on what a single donor could give GOP launches new big money effort

Republicans are launching a fundraising effort that will let donors cut six-figure checks to support GOP Senate candidates this fall — a move that capitalizes on the Supreme Court’s landmark McCutcheon v. FEC decision.

Senate Republicans have filed paperwork to form the Targeted State Victory Committee, a joint fundraising effort between the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Republican state parties in 13 Senate battleground states.


In the McCutcheon decision, handed down in April, a divided Supreme Court struck down the aggregate limit on what a single donor could give to all federal candidates and parties — opening the door for new methods and tactics in the political fundraising space. Prior to the decision, donors were capped at $48,600 to candidate committees and $74,600 in contributions to PACs.

Federal law still limits how much donors can give to each individual candidate and party, but donors can give to as many candidates and parties as they would like. The decision effectively made teaming up to raise money more attractive and more lucrative.

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Donors will be able to cut a check of nearly $200,000 to the new Targeted State Victory Committee — with up to $32,400 going to the NRSC and up to $10,000 going to each of the state parties of Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia.

The NRSC will also collect additional funds for potential recounts, an official with the group said.

The Targeted State Victory Committee will be co-chaired by Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. The pair’s involvement is a signal to donors of the importance the entire party places upon retaking the Senate.

The fund will likely go into programs such as mail-in voting and other contact efforts, according to party officials. The fundraising is aimed at insuring that state Republican parties and Senate candidates in battleground states have enough resources going into November.

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Political parties at the local, state and federal level have steadily seen their power and influence decline since 2010 — when the Supreme Court and the Federal Election Commission opened the doors to unlimited spending by outside groups. State parties in particular have seen their donor base erode over the past 10 years — as rules put in place in 2002 have hurt their fundraising efforts.

Free-spending outside groups such as super PACs and nonprofits have come to dominate the airwaves and the ground game in key battleground states — supplanting the traditional role of parties.

But the new Targeted State Victory Committee gives Republican party leaders at both the state and national level a major big money fundraising tool — bringing some donor money back under the control of party leaders.

Republicans have moved quickly to embrace the new fundraising environment. The NRSC, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Republican National Committee also joined together to form a similar joint fundraising effort in April called the Republican Victory Fund.

Democrats have yet to form such a big money joint fundraising committee.