Opposition to Amnesty Paying Off for State GOPs

Donations to the Republican National Committee may be dwindling, but in many states the fierce opposition is paying off handsomely.

President Bush's immigration bill is hurting fund-raising by the Republican National Committee, but fierce grassroots opposition to the legislation is helping several state Republican parties, Ralph Z. Hallow will report Monday in The Washington Times.

Tina Benkiser, chairwoman of the Republican Party in the president's home state of Texas, says raising money has been successful "in large part to our principled stance against illegal immigration."

Since the beginning of 2006, when substantial immigration debate began, "the Republican Party of Texas has experienced an exponential increase in direct mail donations from supporters statewide," she said.

Both phone and direct-mail fundraising remain strong for Republicans in Michigan, said state chairman Saul Anuzis.

"In Michigan, seven out of nine congressional Republicans oppose the bill, our activists are publicly opposing amnesty and we are also re-establishing our brand image by fighting a Democrat attempt to increase taxes," Mr. Anuzis said. "These issues are keeping our people engaged, where otherwise we could feel a [donations] drop off."

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