Exclusive: GOP’s $5.9 million investment in women and minority candidate pays off

The RSLC, while vastly outspent by Democrats, notched a series of history-making wins this year.

The Republican State Leadership Committee’s (RSLC) Right Leaders Network (RLN) led an intense effort to elect more women and minority candidates to state offices this cycle.

RLSC through RLN invested nearly $6 million into GOP candidates across the country, including in high-profile races in New York, Texas, and South Dakota.

“In what has been a historic year for State Republicans, the RSLC’s ‘Right Leaders Network’ played a major role in electing women and diverse candidates who were crucial in expanding our majorities and flipping legislative chambers in states like Michigan,” RSLC’s president, Dee Duncan, said. “We are proud to have invested nearly $6 million this cycle on recruitment, training and supporting our diverse candidates to build the future of the Republican Party and look forward to further expanding our program to deliver strong results in the future.”

The GOP’s efforts were dwarfed by those of the Democratic Party writ large. However, the RSLC’s counterparts at the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) saw their plans fall somewhat flat this cycle. The DLCC boasted about plans to raise up to $60 million, only to end up spending slightly over half of that.

The RLN’s efforts helped flip 80 seats across the country. Daniel Norber, a veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces, was the first Republican to win his Hempstead, New York-based seat in 50 years; Denise Villalobos ousted a Democratic incumbent in the Texas legislature; and a record number of women were elected to the legislature in South Dakota. All told 1,110 women, minority, or veteran candidates won across the country — and 61 percent of RSLC-backed candidates won their races.

Some of the GOP’s best return on investments have followed the 2024 elections; Democratic lawmakers Susan Valdés and Tano Tijerina in Florida and Texas, respectively, abandoned their party and became Republicans.