Tyler Bowyer, the Chief Operating Officer for Turning Point Action, warned the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) is receiving “zero support” from the Republican National Committee (RNC) in a social media post on Monday.
Bowyer’s post on X, formerly Twitter, was in response to 92.3 KTAR FM host Barry Markson’s claim that former President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again platform “is killing the GOP” in the state, citing a report from The Washington Post which claimed AZGOP Chairman Jeff DeWit was rebuffed by the RNC and its chair, Ronna McDaniel, when repeatedly requesting national funds for the AZGOP since February.
Disputing Markson’s characterization of events, Bowyer declared, “What is happening to [DeWit] now is criminal.”
“He has received zero support from the National GOP Apparatus.” Bowyer wrote, “Anyone will tell you that trying to raise money right now is extremely difficult and [Arizona] has ALWAYS been tough to raise money.”
Instead of messaging and platform issues, Bowyer seemed to indicate that Republicans seeking to implement a pro-Trump platform are left to build new election and campaign infrastructure on their own. Bowyer wrote, “it’s an infrastructure problem against the left. Moderates lose, MAGA loses if we don’t build it.”
Barry just makes things up.
1) Arizona is now the most expensive state per capita ahead of 2024.
The RNC is broke, they have less operating capital in their federal accounts than some state parties.
Even “moderate” State Parties that supported Ronna or have never trump… https://t.co/4iJtA3Tp3R pic.twitter.com/So4tdotpp4
— Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) November 13, 2023
The Post claimed DeWit first began asking the RNC about funding in February, citing conversations with individuals familiar with the conversations, who said the conversations continued until at least mid-September.
One Republican operative reportedly told the outlet DeWit met with McDaniel in April and pleaded that the AZGOP “desperately” needed funds “to keep the lights on,” but the Post reported that McDaniel said the RNC “was not paying legal bills,” including for those involved in Republican elector efforts as part of legal challenges to the 2020 election results.
However, the Post did not acknowledge the AZGOP’s 348 percent fundraising increase it announced in October, which DeWit said proves “rank and file Republicans, as well as the donor community, are happy with what they’ve seen” since he became chairman in a press release written at the time.
AZGOP reported raising $340,597 from more than 2,700 donors, including at least one donor in all 50 states, in the third quarter of 2023, with an average donation amount of $126.15. The fundraising haul marked a stark improvement for the party, as it reported having only around $31,000 in cash on hand earlier in the year.
Acknowledging earlier fundraising concerns, DeWit stated, “[i]t takes a little while for any new Chairman and executive team to get their footing” but the party’s “outreach has shown the base that we are using our resources wisely and efficiently” by “building the infrastructure that will win races.”
Before DeWit became chairman, in 2022 the AZGOP passed a resolution calling for McDaniel to resign as the RNC chair amid an intense leadership battle that saw conservative lawyer Harmeet Dhillon secure widespread support to challenge McDaniel.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tyler Bower” by Turning Point USA and “RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0
