Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee are adding about 85 fundraising veterans to their previously paltry operation, a move that could calm jitters that Trump is not equipped to raise money.
The roster of state finance chairs for the joint fundraising effort includes mainstays of GOP finance circles but also new, wealthy blood that is green to presidential buck-raking. Trump now has at least one state finance chair in 33 states and the District of Columbia.
The lineup suggests that Trump’s fundraising team is making headway and professionalizing its donor contact operation. At least one bundler on the list, John Rakolta, a former national finance chair, told CNN only three weeks ago that he had surprisingly received zero contact from the Trump campaign.
Trump’s fundraising shop previously consisted publicly of only about 20 people, and the campaign began the month of June with only $1.3 million in the bank. Its July numbers are expected to improve significantly.
