Coverage of the Queen's death led to drop in funding for Democrats, New York Times says

David Millward
·2 min read
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The NYT website's report on the death of the Queen - Shiiko Alexander / Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy
The NYT website's report on the death of the Queen - Shiiko Alexander / Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy

Coverage of the Queen’s death by American cable news outlets caused a decline in funding for the Democrats, the New York Times has said.

According to the paper, in recent weeks Democrat donors have been more fixated on the Royal corgis, the Grenadier Guards and the pageantry than the passing of new laws restricting access to abortions.

American political parties rely on repeated small donations from supporters to fund their campaigns. They try to maintain interest by bombarding potential donors with often desperate emails and texts.

But in recent weeks these pleas have fallen on stony ground, although the full extent will only emerge when September’s official figures are released.

“Most people are not tuned into politics 24/7,” Chris Galdieri, associate professor at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire, told The Telegraph.

An image of Queen Elizabeth II displayed on the Times Square digital billboard - David Dee Delgado/Getty
An image of Queen Elizabeth II displayed on the Times Square digital billboard - David Dee Delgado/Getty

“When something knocks politics out of the news, especially when it’s this big a story with pageantry, Harry and Meghan and how the new King presents himself, you are going to forget politics is out there.

“Without these reminders, it is a little harder to remember to be moved to the point where people will reach the point where they get out their wallets.”

September is a pivotal month for political parties as they gear up for a poll in which the fate of both houses of Congress hangs in the balance.

During the 2018 midterm elections, MissionWired, a Democrat fundraising company, saw donations surge by 133 per cent.

But, according to Nat MissionWired’s Nat Binns, the increase is projected to be about half the 2018 figure.

Distracted by the news

“The coverage of the Queen disrupted that moment,” Mr Binns told the New York Times.

“It feels almost like we have to start over to build it up.”

The Supreme Court’s June decision to overturn Roe v Wade, which gave women a constitutional right to abortion, had galvanised Democrat fundraising.

And, despite the September slump, official figures from the Federal Election Commission show that the three top fundraising Senate candidates are all Democrats: Raphael Warnock in Georgia, Mark Kelly in Arizona and Val Demings in Florida.

Republican fundraisers declined to respond to the New York Times.