U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde’s national profile has risen immensely since he joined a group of conservatives who opposed Kevin McCarthy becoming House speaker, stretching the ordeal out for nearly a week in January.
In June, many of those same members shut down the House floor for days after Clyde said that Republican leaders had threatened to punish him for his debt limit stand. Although Clyde didn’t actively participate in the mutiny, he became a symbol of the hardliners’ opposition to leadership.
And throughout the past few months, Clyde has successfully ushered to the floor several bills to overrule decisions made by the District of Columbia’s local government. One, rolling back the city’s new criminal code, was even signed into law.
Despite the Athens Republican’s successes in Washington, it does not appear to have translated to the type of robust fundraising we see with the delegation’s other hard-right firebrand: U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome.
Clyde reported raising just $74,415 during April, May and June, and he spent even more: $95,219. He ended the quarter with just $16,137 in cash on hand, which is the lowest amount for any member of Georgia’s congressional delegation.
A far-right lawmaker who has avoided corporate PAC dollars, Clyde has never been known as a prolific fundraiser. But he even lags behind freshman U.S. Reps. Rich McCormick and Mike Collins, who raised $271,554 and $105,613, respectively. Each has nearly $300,000 in cash on hand.
When it comes to Clyde’s fundraising, there are indicators that his membership in the House Freedom Caucus did provide a bump. Of the $74,415 he raised, $12,100 came through donations sent via the House Freedom Fund, a political committee associated with the conservative group.
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