MAGA Inc. ended July with more than $403 million in cash, yet Donald Trump’s super PAC had spent almost nothing on the midterms by the time battleground Republicans were starting to look for real money. The group brought in another $3 million during the month, but most of the reserve is still sitting untouched.
That is why the money is being watched now. With just over two months left before the midterm elections, every week that passes makes television and digital buying harder to ignore, and Republicans want Trump and MAGA Inc. to move before the window narrows further. Dan Eberhart, who has followed the push for more aggressive spending, put the mood this way: “Hope springs eternal.”
So far, MAGA Inc.’s only major outlay has been in South Carolina, where it spent nearly $830,000 on a last-minute get-out-the-vote push. About $774,000 went to phone calls and $53,500 went to text messages. Outside that race, the group’s July spending was practically nil, which is why the $403 million figure matters more than a simple cash balance: it shows how much firepower is available and how little of it has actually been used.
The contrast is sharper when set against the races Republicans say they want help in. John Kennedy said he was hoping Trump would spend $100 million or $200 million in Texas, but added that Trump had not committed to that yet. In the same state, James Talarico had brought in more than $68.5 million and had more than $21.5 million cash on hand at the end of June, while Ken Paxton had brought in $9 million and had $1.75 million cash on hand. Trump helped Paxton beat John Cornyn, and that support turned what was supposed to be a safe Republican seat into a potential toss up.
Trump spent part of the week signaling he was still engaged. He headlined a Republican National Committee fundraiser in Texas last Thursday, then took part in several MAGA Inc. meetings and a dinner at his golf course in Virginia on Saturday. On Monday, the MAGA Inc.-funded rally series began in Michigan with JD Vance, a sign that the group is finally moving beyond its mostly dormant July. The unresolved question is not whether the money exists. It is how much of that $403 million reserve Trump will actually put into play before the midterm elections arrive and the cost of buying time on the air keeps climbing.
