Why Ron DeSantis is emailing his supporters about men getting pregnant

Ron DeSantis flooded his supporters' inboxes three times this week with the subject line: “Do not tell my children that men can get pregnant.”

Nikki Haley branded several fundraising emails as a response to former president Barack Obama, contrasting his comments on race with her own vision.

And then there is former President Donald Trump, who was largely focused on his own legal travails, which have proven a successful fundraising motivator for him in the past.

The Republican presidential candidate’s appeals for cash came fast and heavy ahead of a key fundraising deadline this Friday. And they revealed the issues that are motivating small-dollar Republican donors to part with their cash.

Emails that rail against President Joe Biden, “wokeness” and the left were most common across the field, according to a POLITICO analysis of more than 200 emails sent by presidential campaigns in the past month. There were still plenty of yard signs and apparel giveaways, too.

Small-dollar fundraising has long been a strength for Trump, the 2024 frontrunner. But the language used in fundraising emails also provides insight as to how the other candidates are trying to distinguish themselves online.

GOP campaign fundraising pitches share some ideas. Every candidate had sent emails or text messages that criticized Biden and called for a secure border, a POLITICO analysis found, tuning into an issue that Republican voters have prioritized.

The policy issue helps candidates seem “like they're talking to constituents, not just asking donors for money," said one GOP fundraising consultant.

Mentions of children, kids or family were also frequent — sometimes in a biographical context as candidates sought to lay out a positive picture for voters, but more frequently as an attack on transgender care and education aimed at firing up the Republican base.

DeSantis has leaned heavily into the culture war issues — which have become central to his campaign — such as the repeated emails mocking the idea of men getting pregnant. Some transgender men do become pregnant. DeSantis also sent more emails mentioning “woke” than any other candidate.

Trump heavily fundraised off his June indictment over mishandling of classified documents, with more than a dozen messages slamming the Justice Department and proclaiming his innocence in the case. In a June 28 email, he called his arrest the “single worst encroachment by the federal government in American history.”

Rival candidates were quick to defend Trump in public. But they were loath to mention him in their fundraising appeals. The former president, by contrast, took several shots at DeSantis in fundraising emails, often under the nickname “DeSanctimonious.”

Candidates who have trailed in the polls were more likely to lean into positive or biographical fundraising emails. Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott all had at least one email in June that included the phrase “American dream.”

One thing that was notably absent was abortion. Pence was the only major presidential candidate to use the phrase “pro-life” in fundraising emails. While the issue of abortion has been a major driver for Democratic fundraising, most Republican candidates have not mentioned it at all in their fundraising appeals, a reflection of how the backlash to the Dobbs decision has vexed the GOP field.

Candidates other than Trump have largely shied away from claims that a donation would be matched or amplified by a separate donor — a commitment several campaigns said they made out of respect for donors, as matching donations are usually impossible.

Candidates who have yet to publicly announce they have met the Republican National Committee’s 40,000 donor threshold for the upcoming debates issued simple appeals for contributions of as little as $1. Candidates who have met the donor qualification also continue to give away bumper stickers, yard signs and apparel in exchange for donations.

And some fundraising emails recognized the awkwardness of the repeated ask. A message from Scott’s campaign on Wednesday noted that the fundraising numbers he is set to report will be viewed as a signal of strength.

“I hate asking for money. It's my least favorite thing to do because I know how hard you work for your paycheck,” the email said. “But if you could chip in again, $5, $15, $50 or more before the clock strikes midnight on Friday I would be so grateful.”