Critics of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) lambasted him over the weekend for a now-deleted tweet in which he cited a school secretary’s $1.50 weekly take-home pay increase as a success story of the GOP tax overhaul.

The tweet played right into the hands of Randy Bryce, Ryan’s long-shot Democratic challenger, who characterized the speaker as “out of touch” in his own tweet. Bryce called on supporters to “Chip in $1.50” to help “repeal and replace Ryan permanently this November.”

Moments ago, @PRyan deleted this tweet after we told him just how out of touch he was. Show Paul Ryan what you think of his tax bill. Chip in $1.50 now to help us repeal and replace Ryan permanently this November.https://t.co/c3Fii4Q0Jn — Randy Bryce (@IronStache) February 3, 2018

The Hill reported Monday that Bryce’s campaign said it had raised more than $150,000 in the two days following Ryan’s ill-fated tweet, with an average contribution of $12.39.

Bryce, a union ironworker, has already proven an aptitude for collecting small campaign contributions. According to records filed with the FEC, Bryce received more money in donations of $200 or less in 2017 than any other House candidate who filed before the Dec. 31 deadline and did not run in a special election.

The Wisconsin Democrat raised about $1.9 million in small contributions last year. Republican Karen Handel, who won a Georgia congressional seat in an April special election, led all House members in money from such donations — amassing about $2.7 million in 2017.

Seven of the ten House candidates who received the most in small donations in 2017 were Democrats. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was fourth with $891,258.

Ryan collected $563,412 — good for seventh. The list consists of eight incumbents and just two challengers.

Most raised from small donations in 2017 (House candidates)

Candidate Race Party Small Donors Net Receipts Randy Bryce WI01 D $1,893,378 $2,650,989 Keith Ellison MN05 D $1,045,081 $1,924,272 John Lewis GA05 D $1,026,213 $1,756,308 Nancy Pelosi CA12 D $891,258 $2,223,489 Brian Mast FL18 R $747,038 $2,022,275 Mia Love UT04 R $626,515 $1,475,551 Paul Ryan WI01 R $563,412 $10,033,330 Amy McGrath KY06 D $540,921 $1,128,372 Brad Schneider IL10 D $539,637 $2,216,560 Adam Schiff CA28 D $446,514 $2,412,650 Joe Kennedy III MA04 D $419,328 $2,083,710 Lee Zeldin NY01 R $376,869 $1,958,699 Tulsi Gabbard HI02 D $363,717 $767,863 Mo Brooks AL05 R $351,269 $1,044,599 Scott W Taylor VA02 R $330,588 $1,388,707 Mike Levin CA49 D $279,232 $1,221,528 Pete Aguilar CA31 D $273,218 $1,383,073 Cheri Bustos IL17 D $246,831 $1,808,220 Mikie Sherrill NJ11 D $245,240 $1,212,939 Anthony Brindisi NY22 D $241,821 $760,890

Bryce also tops a list of House candidates with the largest percentage of individual contributions that came from small donations last year. Of the nearly $2.6 million Bryce collected from individuals, 74 percent came in increments of $200 or less. (Only candidates who had at least $500,000 in net receipts and did not run in a special election last year were included).

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The remainder of the top 10, which consists of seven Democrats and three Republicans, is similar to the list of candidates who raised the most in small donations — with John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) following Bryce at 63.4 and 63.2 percent, respectively.

Near the bottom was House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.): Just 0.3 percent of his total individual contributions came in the form of small donations. Such donations account for a much larger share of other House leaders’ contributions from individuals — 57.3 percent for Pelosi and 50.6 percent for Ryan. Small or otherwise, contributions from individuals made up just 0.07 percent of McCarthy’s net receipts in 2017.

Net receipts include contributions from individuals and PACs, self-funding and other sources, such as loans and transfers from other committees.

In 2017, 71.4 percent of Bryce’s net receipts came from small donors, good for the top spot on a list of House candidates who filed before the deadline and did not run in a special election.

Lewis and Ellison again round out the top three at 58.4 percent and 54.3 percent, respectively.

Small donations accounted for 40.1 percent of Pelosi’s 2017 net receipts compared to 5.6 percent of Ryan’s and 0.02 percent of McCarthy’s.

The top five are all Democrats, and Bryce and Amy McGrath (D-Ky.) are the only non-incumbents to crack the top 10.

Percent raised from small donations (House candidates)

Candidate Race Party Small Donors Individual Donors % of Individual Donors Net Receipts % of Receipts Randy Bryce WI01 D $1,893,378 $2,557,450 74.0% $2,650,989 71.4% Keith Ellison MN05 D $1,045,081 $1,654,672 63.2% $1,924,272 54.3% John Lewis GA05 D $1,026,213 $1,618,584 63.4% $1,756,308 58.4% Nancy Pelosi CA12 D $891,258 $1,554,432 57.3% $2,223,489 40.1% Brian Mast FL18 R $747,038 $1,347,958 55.4% $2,022,275 36.9% Mia Love UT04 R $626,515 $1,058,233 59.2% $1,475,551 42.5% Paul Ryan WI01 R $563,412 $1,113,617 50.6% $10,033,330 5.6% Amy McGrath KY06 D $540,921 $1,051,069 51.5% $1,128,372 47.9% Brad Schneider IL10 D $539,637 $1,734,052 31.1% $2,216,560 24.3% Adam Schiff CA28 D $446,514 $1,973,707 22.6% $2,412,650 18.5% Joe Kennedy III MA04 D $419,328 $1,503,991 27.9% $2,083,710 20.1% Lee Zeldin NY01 R $376,869 $1,297,076 29.1% $1,958,699 19.2% Tulsi Gabbard HI02 D $363,717 $755,270 48.2% $767,863 47.4% Mo Brooks AL05 R $351,269 $954,273 36.8% $1,044,599 33.6% Scott W Taylor VA02 R $330,588 $1,017,612 32.5% $1,388,707 23.8% Mike Levin CA49 D $279,232 $1,217,020 22.9% $1,221,528 22.9% Pete Aguilar CA31 D $273,218 $960,150 28.5% $1,383,073 19.8% Cheri Bustos IL17 D $246,831 $1,011,950 24.4% $1,808,220 13.7% Mikie Sherrill NJ11 D $245,240 $1,110,270 22.1% $1,212,939 20.2% Anthony Brindisi NY22 D $241,821 $553,155 43.7% $760,890 31.8%

Overall, 823 Democratic and 492 Republican House candidates filed FEC year-end reports by Dec. 31. Democrats received roughly $32.2 million in individual contributions of $200 or less, or an average of $39,171 per candidate. Republicans received roughly $13.6 million in small contributions, or a per-candidate average of $27,628.





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