As he targeted Joe Biden, Comer raised $1.5 million from contributors, new data shows
Rep. James Comer had the best fundraising quarter of his congressional career during the final months of 2023, at the same time he was ramping up his case to impeach President Joe Biden.
The Kentucky Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee banked $1.5 million between October and Dec. 31, 2023, according to his Federal Election Commission report, which was due Wednesday night.
That sum includes $1.4 million from individuals, $64,000 from other political action committees and nearly $26,000 that was transferred from his joint political victory committee that disburses to him and other Republicans.
The handsome haul meant that Comer began 2024 with $2.29 million in his campaign war chest.
“Congressman Comer is proud to have a historic fundraising quarter because of his strong grassroots support from Kentuckians and patriots across America,” said Caroline Cash, Comer’s political aide who also serves as his chief of staff.
“He is fighting for his constituents and laser focused on bringing accountability to the Biden Administration.”
The fourth quarter sum is a nod to Comer’s rising national prominence over the past year since taking helm of one of the most visible committees in Congress and his increasingly feverish pursuit of alleged wrongdoings by the president and his son, Hunter Biden.
Comer’s steady fundraising growth over the past year tracks with his rising visibility among conservatives nationally.
During the first quarter of 2023, he raised just $300,000 and between April and July, his total ticked up to $700,000.
In the third quarter – spanning between July and Sept. 30, he cleared $1 million. He was the fifth-most successful national House Republican fundraiser over the past six months, according to totals compiled by WinRed, a prominent GOP fundraising platform.
The GOP-led House voted to formalize the impeachment inquiry of Biden in mid-December, though Comer has yet to produce any concrete evidence the president did anything wrong.
Nonetheless, during this period, Comer has been a ubiquitous presence on such prominent conservative television networks as Fox News and Newsmax.
“When Joe Biden said there was a wall between the government and himself and his family’s shady business schemes, that’s not true.” Comer said during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s FOX program earlier this week.
But just this week, a longtime business associate of Hunter Biden testified to Comer’s committee that he was unaware of any financial transactions or compensation that then-Vice President Biden received related to members of his family.
“All of the people that we brought in for depositions, they have a hard time remembering the bad things,” Comer told Hannity.
BARR STILL LEADS
Though Comer’s fourth-quarter tranche was more than any other Kentucky House member, he still trails Lexington Republican Rep. Andy Barr in cash on hand.
Barr, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, raised $294,945 during the fourth quarter, including $152,000 from individuals and almost as much – $143,000 – from political action committees.
He ended 2023 with $3.17 million in the bank to spend – money that could potentially be utilized for a future U.S. Senate run.
The future political aspirations of Barr, Comer and Rep. Thomas Massie make their fundraising numbers intriguing for political observers attempting to read tea leaves. None of them have encountered competitive House re-election races in recent years, and Mitch McConnell’s current term is up in 2027.
Massie raised just $119,488 during the fourth quarter, including $38,000 from political action committees. He was left with $317,335 in the bank, far behind Barr and Comer, and leaving him in the worst cash-on-hand position of any Kentucky House member.
Rep. Brett Guthrie raised $217,832 but reported a healthy $2.12 million in the bank, while Rep. Hal Rogers took in only $94,612 during the last three months of the year, leaving him with $818,376 to spend.
The commonwealth’s lone Democrat, first-term Rep. Morgan McGarvey, took in $275,383 for the year-ending quarter. His war chest entered the year with $793,177.
This story was originally published February 1, 2024 at 1:38 PM with the headline "As he targeted Joe Biden, Comer raised $1.5 million from contributors, new data shows."
