Retailers saw a dismal fall quarter. The election seems to be turning things around.
Mike Johnson kicks off swing-state tour as GOP clings to House control
House Speaker Mike Johnson is embarking on a swing-state tour in the closing weeks of the election as Republicans fight to keep hold of their razor-thin majority in the House.
Johnson’s ‘American Revival Tour’ is making stops in Michigan this weekend, and additional events are being planned in Ohio and Pennsylvania, among other states.
Its purpose is ‘highlighting House Republicans’ agenda for the next Congress,’ Johnson’s political team told Fox News Digital.
The Louisiana Republican has been crisscrossing the country in 24 states in a bid to keep and possibly expand the GOP’s control over the House.
All three states are also being viewed as critical keys to victory for former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign. It is no surprise they line up considering Johnson’s efforts to unite the GOP behind the former president.
A video rolling out the tour, previewed by Fox News Digital, features Johnson pledging, ‘We are going to win the White House, the Senate, and take back the House.’
‘We’re going to secure the border, unleash our energy sector, protect our rights, support working families, pursue peace through strength,’ Johnson says in the video. ‘Everything is on the line. We will be able to restore those foundations, and we really truly can bring about an ‘American Revival.’’
Johnson has been appearing with Republican incumbents and candidates across the country while also diving into the fundraising circuit – a baptism by fire for a previously little-known policy wonk who was rocketed to the national stage after the ouster of ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., roughly a year ago.
The work he has put in appears to be paying off. Earlier this week, it was announced that Johnson raised $27.5 million from July through September, ‘the highest amount raised by a Republican Speaker of the House in the third quarter of a presidential election year,’ according to his team.
Of that, just over $8 million went to individual GOP candidates.
That cash will likely be much needed as groups aligned with the House GOP continue to trail their Democratic counterparts.
House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), outraised the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in August, according to numbers released late last month.
The DCCC raised $22.3 million in August, compared to $9.7 million by the NRCC. House Democrats ended that time period with more cash than the GOP as well – $87 million compared to $70.7 million.
Meanwhile, Republicans in tight races like Reps. Marianette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Ken Calvert, R-Calif., have been trailing their Democratic challengers in terms of funding as of the latest fundraising quarter.
Johnson is pivoting his ‘American Revival’ tour to swing states after kicking off a pro-Trump event in Texas earlier this month.