Report: Democrats Using Jan. 6 Hearings to Solicit More Grassroots Donors

Democratic Party leaders are apparently using the House select committee's hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, unrest at the Capitol to boost small-dollar donations, according to an Axios report.

Citing the Axios piece, records show party leaders are primarily focused on building up the Democrats' grassroots fundraising programs, through the promotion of the televised Jan. 6 investigations.

The party's top objectives:

— Axios says a "handful" of Democratic Party committees are including the Jan. 6 investigations into digital ads and fundraising appeals.

— Also, the delivery of fundraising appeals have been synced up with the hearings.

Citing the Axios report, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) have already begun peppering party supporters with ads and emails about the hearings.

For example:

• "Jan. 6 panel announces eight hearings to be held in June," declared one DSCC email subject line. The message polled recipients about whether they'd watch the hearings, then directed readers to a fundraising page.
• The DCCC permitted its organizing chair, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who's also a Jan. 6 panel member, to headline the fundraising appeals. The emails and ads reportedly tie donation appeals to the investigation.
• State-level committees such as the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee and the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State also produced fundraising emails tied to the Jan. 6 investigation.

The House panel is comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans — Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.

According to a New York Times report, the Democrats hope "the committee's findings, collected from 1,000 witnesses and over 140,000 documents, will do most of the messaging work for them."

The Times also quoted Raskin's promise that the hearings will "blow the roof off the House."

Raskin's colorful prediction aligns with the bold language used by Democrat-affiliated fundraisers.

VoteVets, a veteran-focused Democrat group, which touts the Jan. 6 hearings in fundraising appeals, told Axios it's been a successful partnership to date.

"Our base of progressive military veterans, families and their supporters click through our emails at an especially high rate when we're promoting our work to hold insurrectionists accountable, and beat back disinformation, like 'The Big Lie,'" said Paul Eaton, a retired Army major general and a senior adviser to the group.

Eaton continued, "… they still take the rule of law, and our Constitution, incredibly seriously and realize we're at a defining moment. We strongly believe that the majority of voters also realize this, which is why we're not going to shy away from this issue in 2022."

Only time will tell if the Jan. 6 hearings lead to sustained Democratic Party success during the November midterms elections. In the meantime, the investigations serve as a unifying fundraising source.

"The primary purpose of it is going to be fundraising for a lot of the Democratic Party institutions and establishments," said Murshed Zaheed, a veteran Democrat digital strategist.

Zaheed added, "It's unclear how much of it will actually move the needle in holding Trump accountable," but it will "give lots of content for the email programs."

• Big Networks See Huge Ratings Decline With Jan. 6 Hearings
• Rep. Mast to Newsmax: Jan. 6 Hearings A 'Smoke-And-Mirrors Game' for Democrats