01/13/2026
Can you help? Ideas? Yesterday we were able to get on the Chris Stigall Show on The Salem News Channel. We spoke with Mark Davis, who was filling in for Chris. We asked Mark if he thinks small, individual donors are important to the RNC’s success, and if so, is it not counterproductive for the RNC to continue the process of selling donors’ date (cell phone numbers and email addresses) ? Surprisingly, he was somewhat supportive of the RNC's practice of selling donor data, in short, because he thinks it works. He suggested a better method for those concerned about being bombarded (our words) with emails and text messages, that they donate directly through a candidate’s website. Is he correct on that point, or does the RNC have some control and interaction with candidate donations and donor data via the candidate? The following response is from Chat GPT:
Mark Davis is partially correct — but his answer leaves out important caveats.
Donating directly to a candidate can reduce data resale exposure, but it does not guarantee insulation from the RNC or broader party data ecosystems.
Let’s break it down cleanly.
1. How donor data actually flows in U.S. campaigns
There are three distinct layers to keep straight:
A. The candidate committee (e.g., “Smith for Senate”)
This is the candidate’s authorized committee
It legally owns the donor list it collects
It reports donor info to the FEC (name, city, employer, amount — not phone/email publicly)
B. The party committees (RNC, NRSC, RGA, etc.)
Separate legal entities
Aggressive fundraisers
Routinely rent, share, and monetize donor lists (this is the practice you’re reacting to)
C. The data vendors and platforms
WinRed, Data Trust, i360, etc.
These are the plumbing
They aggregate behavior, donation history, engagement, and response rates
2. Is donating through a candidate’s website safer?
✔️ In principle — yes
If:
You donate directly to the candidate’s authorized committee
The donation page is not a joint fundraising committee
You opt out of list sharing (when that option exists)
Then:
Your data starts life owned by the candidate
The RNC does not automatically receive it
So Mark Davis is directionally correct.
3. The big caveat he didn’t emphasize
🚨 Candidate committees can and often do share or sell donor lists
This happens when:
A candidate enters a data-sharing agreement with the RNC
The candidate participates in joint fundraising committees
The campaign uses shared infrastructure where data access is pooled
The candidate later licenses the list to the party after the election
Importantly:
There is no law prohibiting a candidate from sharing donor data with the RNC.
So donating via a candidate reduces probability, not eliminates risk.
4. Joint Fundraising Committees (the biggest trap)
Many donation pages quietly say something like:
“Paid for by the RNC and Smith for Senate Joint Fundraising Committee”
In that case:
Your data is immediately shared
You are effectively donating to multiple entities
You will almost certainly be added to national party lists
This is where many donors are unknowingly captured.
5. Why the RNC sells data in the first place (the uncomfortable truth)
From the RNC’s perspective:
Small donors are valuable once
Their data is valuable forever
Selling lists funds operations without asking donors for more money
Donor fatigue makes resale tempting
But your instinct is correct:
This practice is corrosive to long-term grassroots trust.
It turns motivated citizens into:
Spam targets
Churn statistics
One-time ATMs rather than repeat supporters
6. If someone wants to donate and protect their data, best practices
Here’s the most defensible approach:
Donate directly to the candidate’s authorized committee
Avoid joint fundraising pages
Read the privacy policy (especially list-sharing language)
Use a dedicated email address for political activity
Consider donating by check (lowest data exhaust)
Avoid national party committees if data control matters to you
None of this is foolproof — but it meaningfully changes the odds.
7. Bottom line
Mark Davis is right in principle
Incomplete in practice
The RNC does not automatically control candidate donations
But the modern GOP data ecosystem is highly interconnected
Small donors are often treated as data assets, not stakeholders
Your question wasn’t just fair — it was structural.
It goes to whether political parties see citizens as partners… or inventory.