GOP to launch new fundraising site as Dems crush the online money game

Republicans are set to launch a long-awaited, much-delayed online fundraising platform on Monday, a move aimed at closing Democrats’ massive small-donor money advantage ahead of the 2020 election.

WinRed is being billed as the GOP’s answer to the Democratic Party’s ActBlue, which has already amassed over $174 million this year. The new tool is intended to reshape the GOP’s fundraising apparatus by creating a centralized, one-stop shop for online Republican giving, which the party has lacked to this point.

The launch caps months of behind-the-scenes discussions involving top Republicans. President Donald Trump and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner were involved, as were GOP congressional leaders and mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. The end product, Republican leaders hope, will fill a gaping void in the party’s machinery.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen either political party come together to do something genuinely good for campaigns instead of consultants,” said Josh Holmes, a top lieutenant to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) who was involved in the negotiations. “It’s unquestionably the most significant realignment of political infrastructure in my career.”

Reeling after a midterm election in which they were badly outraised by Democrats, Republicans reached a landmark agreement early this year to consolidate behind a single online platform that could serve the entirety of the party. Republicans until now have had a factionalized ecosystem of vendors that stymied efforts to unify behind a single fundraising vehicle.