Trump is finally raising money. So why isn’t he spending it?

RNC officials have said that their ground operations are far ahead of where they were in the 2012 race, with 504 field organizers now deployed in 16 states, up from 461 in June. The responsibility for identifying voters, registering them, tracking absentee ballots and getting supporters to the polls on Nov. 8 largely falls on those party staff members.

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“The major reason we are fundraising through the RNC is that a huge part of that fundraising will support a ground game, which not only benefits Donald, but benefits other people on the ticket,” said Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s national campaign finance chairman. “In essence, our strategy is to do a lot more in conjunction with the RNC.”

But Trump allies fear that the real estate tycoon is leaving himself vulnerable by outsourcing his voter mobilization program to the party, which has a responsibility to the entire GOP ticket.

“They have to basically make sure that in those eight or nine states that matter, they have their own imprint,” Ed Rollins, senior strategist for the pro-Trump Great America PAC, said of the campaign. “The risk is obvious. If in three or four weeks from now he’s not doing better in the polls, there are going to be big pressures inside the [RNC] building to help out Senate and congressional races. There will be cross-pressures to take that money and use it.”

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