Dem
51
GOP
49
The Republican Party [sic] is in a state of disarray. Donald Trump is probably going to be indicted in D.C. and Georgia before the summer is out and Ron DeSantis is incapable of saying what he is for except slaying the wokeness dragon, which the voters haven't even noticed. All the others make the Seven Dwarfs look like Seven Giants. What's a big donor to do? The recent fundraising filings give at least a partial hint.
Executives in the energy industry seem to have made up their minds that Donald Trump isn't their guy this time. Their donations are spread across his rivals, suggesting that they really don't know what to do except not help Trump, whom they see as a loser. Some of them are hedging their bets by donating to multiple candidates. Oil and gas magnate Harold Hamm has donated to DeSantis and Nikki Haley. Pipeline mogul Kelcy Warren gave to DeSantis. Billionaire energy executive Jeffrey Hildebrand is supporting billionaire Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND). Coal executive Joe Craft (husband of former U.N. ambassador Kelly Craft) is playing the field. He has donated to Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, and DeSantis, in an anyone-but-Trump play. None of them have donated to Trump.
However, Trump's strength has never been the big donors. It has always been the small donors, but even some of them are starting to have second thoughts about him. An analysis by the Wall Street Journal showed that 5,000 people who donated to Trump in 2020 have donated to someone else this cycle. Still, Trump has many small donors who are sticking with him even if the big ones desert him in droves. (V)