The Republican Party of Minnesota, where Democrats generally though not exclusively enjoy electoral success, has almost no money.
In new filings made with the Federal Election Commission, which as its name suggests handles federal financial reports for entities involving themselves in, well, federal elections, the beleaguered state party reported just $53.81 in cash on hand — meaning available funds — at the close of the second quarter of this year, which ended June 30. It started the quarter with not much cash on hand either, though there was a significant drop over those few months. The starting total was roughly $30,700.
Over the quarter, the state party brought in $96,000… and reported nearly $127,000 in various disbursements. And at the end of the quarter, the state party had a huge amount of debt, saying they owed nearly $336,000. A substantial portion of their disbursements over the quarter went towards direct mail services, meaning flyers sent to Minnesota residents. The state party reported making payments of $11,500 and $38,500 for such efforts, both to Pinnacle Direct. Thousands and thousands more went to payroll, quickly reaching the spending total across the quarter.
In the midterm elections last year, Minnesota Democrats nabbed unified control of the state’s governorship and legislature, which has enabled a robust record of policy progress in the months since. Action has included protections for abortion and gender-affirming care and new restrictions around guns, like the imposition of a red flag law that allows for temporary limits on access to guns if a given individual is suspected of posing a danger to themselves or others. Minnesota even joined the intrastate agreement to give their electoral votes to the national popular vote’s winner, which would kick into gear if states that have provided their formal support comprise an overall majority of the country’s electoral votes.
Nearby Michigan saw similarly broad success for Democrats, who nabbed that unified control in that state as well and also implemented red flag laws. Also on the agenda for Democrats after the midterms have been bans on assault weapons pursued in states including Illinois and Washington.
