GOP reps who voted to overturn election raised less cash

In the wake of a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol stirred up by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud, House Republicans were divided.

Sixty-five Republican representatives voted to accept the 2020 election results, that Joe Biden was the winner.

But 136 Republicans voted to reject the results. Just hours after a deadly riot overtook the Capitol, the majority of GOP representatives continued to support Trump’s effort to overturn the election.

Now, as representatives prepare to run for re-election in 2022, a Reuters analysis of federal fundraising data show that Republicans who voted to accept the election are - on average - pulling in more cash than those who sided with the president against the results.

Those who voted with Democrats to approve the tallies raised about $360,000 on average for their re-election campaigns. Republicans who voted to overturn the results raised about a quarter less, averaging $290,000.

Some prominent Trump critics inside the GOP did particularly well: Liz Cheney of Wyoming raised $1.5 million. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois pulled in $1 million. And Jaime Herrera Butler of Washington state drew $700,000.

One effect of the deadly siege was a vow by corporate donor groups and dozens of large U.S. companies to halt donations to Republican lawmakers who voted to overturn Trump's election loss.

The lower average haul for these representatives may show the effect of those pledges.

At the same time, some high-profile Trump supporters did particularly well. Newly-elected Georgia Representative Majorie Taylor Greene raised $3.2 million in the first three months of 2021.

And conference leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise - who both voted to overturn the election results - raised $2.9 and $3.2 million respectively.