there were planes to catch and bills to pay

The murky methods: “One fund-raising scheme used by the Senate committee, which has not previously been disclosed, involved sending an estimated millions of text messages that asked provocative questions - ‘Should BIDEN resign?’ - followed by a request for cash: ‘Reply YES to donate.’ Those who replied ‘YES’ had their donation processed immediately, though the text did not reveal in advance where the money was going. “Now top Republicans are beginning to ask: Where did all the money go? The answer, chiefly, is that SCOTT’s enormous gamble on finding new online donors has been a costly financial flop in 2022, according to a New York Times analysis of federal records and interviews with people briefed on the committee’s finances. The Republican group entered August with just $23.2 million on hand, less than half of what the Senate Democratic committee had ahead of the final intense phase of the midterm elections. The numbers: “By the end of July, the committee had collected a record $181.5 million - but had already spent more than 95 percent of what it had brought in.

IF YOU READ ONE THING TODAY: NYT’s Shane Goldmacher is up with a blockbuster story digging into the gaping cash disparity between the NRSC and the DSCC as Senate Republicans begin to fret about their prospects of flipping the chamber with a cabal of cash-strapped (and in some cases controversial) candidates.

There were planes to catch and bills to pay