Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks throughout the Mothers for Liberty Joyful Warriors National Summit on the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in Philadelphia, July 1, 2023.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is adding a novel incentive to his grassroots fundraising operation: paying supporters back a piece of what they raise for his campaign.
Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who has largely fueled his own longshot bid for the 2024 nomination, bills the brand new initiative as a method to “democratize political fundraising.” It might also help drive down the dimensions of Ramaswamy’s average donation, a key figure for candidates in search of to tout broad support from grassroots voters reasonably than wealthy donors.
Ramaswamy’s campaign said it has already amassed greater than 60,000 donors, exceeding the 40,000-donor threshold to qualify for the Republican presidential debate set for August 23.
The campaign says this system, called “Vivek’s Kitchen Cabinet,” will give supporters a ten% commission of the full they raise for Ramaswamy’s White House bid. Participants will get a novel fundraising link to share to prospective donors, and they’ll have the opportunity to trace their efforts through a “personal dashboard,” in line with the campaign.
The campaign also guarantees “special awards,” corresponding to a private call with the candidate and invites to events.
Those that enroll for this system are told they will probably be contacted by a third-party background checking agency to make sure eligibility. Ramaswamy’s campaign didn’t immediately say which agency will conduct those background checks.
Ramaswamy’s campaign said it has vetted this system with the Federal Election Commission, though some campaign finance experts say the incentives it introduces might raise ethical concerns.
Ramaswamy, 37, had given his campaign greater than $10.5 million in loans and contributions as of the tip of March.
Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance expert at Documented, told CNBC in an email that he’s “never seen anything like this.” But he added that this system doesn’t raise any obvious legal red flags and it seems to mirror campaigns’ traditional relationships with skilled fundraisers.
Fischer said he expected to see among the campaign’s payments reported in its future FEC filings since it plans to treat the participants as independent contractors. Dan Weiner, director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program, in an interview questioned whether the campaign would clarify to participants that their names could also be disclosed as vendors.
Soliciting groups of donors for campaign contributions, or bundling, is commonplace in campaign fundraising. But Ramaswamy’s program looks poised to expand the practice beyond the often small circle of rich or well-connected operatives who tap their networks for checks.
“There is a tiny group, it’s an oligopoly, of people that raise money, bundling and otherwise, who get to maintain a big percentage, sometimes as much as 10%, of what they really raise,” Ramaswamy said in a video posted on his social media Monday morning.
“I do not like this method because it exists. But when that is the system we’ll have, my view is, let’s democratize that and make it possible for everyone to make cash as well,” he said.