Priebus, the former Wisconsin GOP chairman, is taking things a step at a time: restore connections with the party’s major donors, party leaders on Capitol Hill and K Street; chip away at the debt he inherited from Steele; build up a substantial bank account; ensure that the 2012 nominating process is orderly; and retool the party’s once-vaunted voter mobilization program.
“I fully understand that my top priority here at the RNC is to rebuild trust and credibility, and I would say that everything I do, the entire common denominator, whether it be earning trust on the Hill, earning trust with reporters, earning trust with donors and grass roots and all the states, is trust and credibility,” Priebus said during an interview late Friday in his office.
When Priebus arrived at RNC headquarters after defeating Steele and others for the party’s top job, he found the following financial situation: cash on hand of little more than $350,000, with payroll of $400,000 due six days later. The overall debt stood at $24 million.
By the end of March, the party had $3.2 million cash on hand and debt of $19.8 million. Although the debt is still substantial, it is only a couple of million dollars more than the Democratic National Committee is carrying. Priebus believes that to show progress, getting the debt under $20 million was critical. Now he feels he has breathing room to manage the party’s finances more intelligently.
Steele’s neglect of major donors was well-known, but the problem was even more severe than advertised. According to a party source who declined to be identified in order to share internal accounting details, the RNC’s major donor program had generally brought in $40 million to $45 million during previous two-year cycles. During Steele’s tenure, the program raised just $7 million.
One of Priebus’s early steps was to meet with a who’s who of major Republican donors to enlist their help in getting the committee back in financial shape. They have responded enthusiastically. But can Priebus help put the party’s 2012 nominee in a financial position to go up against an opponent who threatens to raise close to a billion dollars?
“I think we’re going to have an incredible national finance operation that will rival whatever machine Barack Obama can put into place,” he said.
Priebus said his goal is to have money “coming out of the windows” at party headquarters. “We need to turn the RNC into a slot machine, and it’s our intention to do that so we can fully fund a presidential campaign as soon as we have a nominee,” Priebus said. “Everybody’s committed to that.”
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