Vivek Ramaswamy campaign proposes giving 10% commission to bundlers

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy’s presidential campaign is launching a new fundraising initiative that will see the campaign give donors 10% of the total amount of money they raise.

Though Ramaswamy is spending his own wealth on his campaign, he is also prospecting for support from others — a necessity for GOP candidates given that they need to get at least 40,000 donors to participate in the Republican National Committee’s first debate in August. Ramaswamy's campaign says it has garnered support from 60,000 donors so far.

The new program, dubbed “Vivek’s Kitchen Cabinet,” will see donors get their own unique link to send to others to donate to the campaign. The campaign will give them 10% per donation given through their unique link, as well as tools including dashboards to track their progress and special incentives with the campaign, like invites to special events.

Bundler programs are nothing new for presidential campaigns, with wealthy donors organizing their friends and acquaintances to give — and in turn earning access to campaigns. But the reimbursement program is a new twist, and potentially a legal gray area. The Ramaswamy campaign said its legal counsel had cleared the program with Federal Election Commission guidance. 

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The campaign cast the program as an effort to democratize political fundraising in a statement. 

“I found out that most professional political fundraisers get a cut of the money they raise—why should they monopolize political fundraising? They shouldn’t,” Ramaswamy said in his statement. “This isn’t just a grassroots campaign; this is a revolution.” 

Individuals who join the program will be subject to a verification process and agree to maintain compliance with FEC regulations and follow campaign rules.