Sen. Josh Hawley Announces Fundraising ‘Surge’ After Objecting to Electoral Certification

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) at a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 28, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) brought in a significant fundraising haul after he objected to the electoral certification during the Jan. 6 Joint Session of Congress.

The Missouri Republican’s office released a memo on Monday that showed his campaign netted nearly $1 million in January, saying that 12,000 new donors pitched in.

The campaign now has about $2.1 million on hand as Hawley is aiming to get reelected in 2022.

“It is crystal clear that a strong majority of Missouri voters and donors stand firmly with Senator Hawley, in spite of the continued false attacks coming from the radical left,” Hawley pollster Wes Anderson said.

His team said the fundraising haul came in spite of “aggressive attacks” by “national Democrats” after he objected to certifying Pennsylvania on Jan. 6. A number of Democrats have alleged that Hawley’s objection led to the storming of the Capitol, although the objection is entirely lawful under the Constitution and similar objections have been lodged by Democratic lawmakers in recent presidential elections.

“The same is also true of the fundraising data we have seen over the past month. Despite much ink being spilled about corporate political action committee (PAC) support being paused and three doors separating themselves from Senator Hawley, the Hawley campaign has seen a surge in financial support—raising nearly $1 million in January with thousands of new donors,” the memo said. It was likely referring to some major corporations announcing—in the aftermath of the Capitol incident—that they would pause or stop donations to Republicans who objected.

A poll of Missouri voters also found that 57 percent agreed that Hawley was within his constitutional duty to object to Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes, according to a poll released by his team.

For his part, Hawley condemned the violence and said he “will never apologize for giving voice to the millions of Missourians and Americans who have concerns about the integrity of our elections,” according to a statement he released last month. “That’s my job, and I will keep doing it.”

Hawley was the first senator to announce that he would object to the results. About a dozen other GOP senators and dozens of House representatives also joined him. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, was the first Republican in Congress to announce he would challenge the results in key states.

Weeks later, Hawley said that he was never trying to overturn the 2020 election.

“I never said that the goal was to overturn the election. That was never the point and that was never possible,” Hawley said on Jan. 28, remarking that he was concerned about election integrity.

Separately, the first-term senator, who is widely viewed as a possible presidential contender, told news outlets last week that he will not try to run for president in 2024.