Four GOP State Parties That Are Not Getting It Done

State-level political parties matter. A lot. And never more so than when they are being run into the ground by crazy makers.
Jim Gehraghty writing at National Review:

When a political party adopts a mindset that prioritizes loyalty to a particular figure — in this case, Donald Trump — over all other traits, eventually it tends to run low on those other traits. We see the consequences of this mentality in the condition of several state Republican parties.

In Arizona:

The Arizona Republican Party picked a bad time to run out of money.

There are two competitive House seats on the line as Republicans are looking to defend their slim majority in the lower chamber next year. Not to mention, Arizona is going to be a major swing state in the 2024 presidential election.

But the state GOP has just over $23,000 in cash on hand in its federal account, according to federal filings, and roughly $144,000 according to their [second-quarter] state filing. That pales in comparison to state parties in places like Wisconsin and Ohio, where both had more than $1 million in cash on hand at the end of the most recent quarter.

In Colorado:

In the wake of the vote in Congress to raise the debt ceiling, [state Republican Chair Dave] Williams delivered a strident attack on all Republicans who voted for the measure, and specifically his former primary opponent, Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (he lost to Lamborn last year by 18 points).

In a blast email, he basically called Lamborn a liar and a hypocrite and said “Colorado Republicans are fed up with say-anything politicians like Doug Lamborn…”

This is not only wildly inappropriate for a party chair but seems utterly unmoored from any serious strategy to build a robust, statewide election-winning organization. In fact, he included a plea for donations at the end of the anti-GOP email by touting his efforts to “put the Democrats on defense.”

Also in Colorado:

Stolen election conspiracist Dave Williams, the new state chairman, has announced the Colorado Republican State Central Committee (CRC) will vote on August 5 on whether to cancel the 2024 Republican primary election. And to accomplish this act of political suicide, they want to make a change in the committee’s voting rules that would make the old Soviet Politburo proud.

Voters passed Proposition 108 in 2016 which allows unaffiliated voters to vote in the primary election of their choice.

Unaffiliated voters receive both parties’ primary ballots in the mail and they can choose one. Voting in both primaries nullifies both ballots.

In Minnesota:

Recent filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) reveal that Minnesota’s Republican Party is financially struggling, with barely $54 cash on hand. Additionally, the state GOP has more than $335,000 in debt, according to the FEC paperwork filed in late June.

In Michigan:

At least four county parties in Michigan have been at open war with themselves, with members suing one another or putting forward competing slates that claim to be in charge. The night before an April state party meeting, two GOP officials got into a physical altercation in a hotel bar over an attempt to expel members. The state party’s new chairwoman, Kristina Karamo, has struggled to raise money and abandoned the party’s longtime headquarters.

Also in Michigan:

The Michigan Republican Party has about $93,000 in its bank accounts 16 months before the November 2024 presidential election, a revelation GOP insiders said paints an alarming financial picture for a political party that had full control of state government five years ago.

And we might even throw in what’s going on down in Georgia:

The Georgia GOP spent more in the first six months of 2023 than it paid out in all of 2022 to represent “alternate” Republican electors targeted amid Fulton County’s probe into whether Donald Trump and his allies committed crimes while trying to overturn his 2020 defeat.

Newly filed campaign disclosures show that the party paid out more than $520,000 in legal expenses in the first six months of 2023. That’s about 75% more than what was paid out in 2022 and five times what the party spent for legal expenses in 2021, according to disclosures.

More than $340,000 of that went to defend the fake electors who are possible targets in the Fulton County probe. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to announce indictments in the case in August. It’s unclear whether any of the fake electors will face charges. . . .

The party raised $722,000 during the previous six months, through June 30, so a large chunk of what it took in went for legal expenses. It still listed having nearly $1.4 million banked.

As our Scott Howard observed, “For the price of a new Xbox game, you, too, can own your own state party.” Hey, it’s not like Republicans wanted to compete in Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, and Minnesota in 2024, right? And when has Georgia ever turned out to be key to Republican hopes in an election?