President Donald Trump’s closest confidants outside the White House pulled in $2 million for the midterm elections in one day while visiting cities across California, CNBC has learned.
Trump’s 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale, son Eric Trump and daughter in law Lara met with donors on Friday, in an effort to raise money for the Trump Victory committee, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. The GOP joint fundraising committee supports both Trump’s re-election efforts and the Republican National Committee.
The large haul came after a full day blitz of meetings in Beverly Hills, San Diego and Palo Alto as the November elections loom, the source added.
A spokesman for the Trump campaign declined to comment.
Two of those cities are part of Democratic strongholds, with Beverly Hills located in Congressman Ted Lieu’s 33rd district, while Palo Alto is a part of Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s 18th district. San Diego County is split between a number of representatives from both sides of the aisle, including the recently indicted Republican Duncan Hunter and outgoing GOP member Darrell Issa, along with Democrats Scott Peters and Susan Davis.
Hunter, along with his wife, were indicted for misusing campaign funds to pay for personal bills.
It’s unclear how much each ticket cost for entry to the events but a local FOX affiliate reports that the San Diego lunch cost $5,000 per couple and $2,500 per person.
Trump’s Victory Committee has been a considerable fundraising tool for Republicans running in the midterms.
Throughout the 2018 election cycle it’s raised just over $27 million ,and spent $14 million in an effort to stop a potential blue wave in Congress. Their top beneficiary has been the RNC, which has received $5.1 million at this point, according to the Center for Responsive politics.
Federal Election Commission filings show the committees top donors include Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman along with Elizabeth Uihlein, the founder of shipping supply company Uline Inc and wife of GOP mega-donor Richard Uihlein. The Uihlein’s have combined to give $32 million to Republican efforts throughout the 2018 cycle.
