Politics
NEW: Trump’s Secret Weapon For 2026 Midterms Is Revealed: ‘Dominant Force’
President Donald Trump shattered even his own lofty expectations for the 2026 midterms when his political operation confirmed that he is on pace to raise more funds than any second-term incumbent in history.
Initially, the Republican took office pledging to raise $1 billion to punish opponents and reward allies in 2026, a sum that would have already been unprecedented. He was well on his way to achieving that goal by May, when his political action committees reported raising a combined $600 million.
On Monday, they blew past their estimates after reporting a total of $1.4 billion.
Advisors to Trump say the fundraising haul positions him to be an “even more dominant force” in 2026.
To get there, Trump fundraising aides are counting money raised by the Republican National Committee as well as direct donations and commitments to his campaign and outside PACs. Campaign officials say the vast majority of the funds will be used to help retain Republican majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.
The GOP currently holds a narrow 220-215 majority in the House and a 53-47 majority in the Senate.
All funds will be spent at President Trump’s sole discretion on whatever he finds “necessary and appropriate,” aides said.
“After securing a historic victory in his re-election campaign in 2024, President Trump has continued to break records, including fundraising numbers that have positioned him to be an even more dominant force going into the midterms and beyond,” President Trump’s senior advisor and National Finance Director, Meredith O’Rourke, told Fox News Digital.
One of the biggest buoys to Trump’s fundraising came in April when he traveled to Washington, D.C. to headline an event in support of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House GOP’s main campaign arm. Sources told the outlet that the one-night event brought in as much as $10 million.
Trump has flexed his muscle over the Republican Party, installing Vice President J.D. Vance as finance chair and ally K.C. Crosbie as co-chair. Both positions afford Vance the opportunity to demonstrate his campaign prowess and develop key institutional relationships ahead of an expected 2028 bid for the presidency.
Vance has pledged to “fully enact the MAGA mandate” and help Republicans keep control of the House and Senate in 2026.
Political horse traders have predicted that Republicans face a tougher road to keeping the House, where a handful of swing-district members will likely make the difference. Some, such as Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), have attempted to walk a fine line, praising parts of Trump’s agenda while disavowing others.
Some, however, haven’t been able to master the delicate art of intra-party diplomacy. On Sunday, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced he will retire rather than seek reelection after Trump promised to support a primary challenger because of Tillis’s objections to parts of the “big, beautiful” tax cut bill.
Trump has indicated he is very much willing to spend against incumbents such as Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Warren Davidson (R-OH), two deficit hawks who voted against Trump’s tax cuts last month. Trump also remembers the limits placed on him after Democrats won control of Congress in 2018.
“I’m going to be very active,” he said on “Meet the Press,” noting he’s “raised a lot of money for congressmen and senators that I think are really good people.”
