Thanks to Friends of Traditional Banking and other allies helping good leaders like Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) and Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) win their close races, Republicans will keep the chairmanship of the influential House Financial Services Committee.

However, with the retirement of Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who currently chairs the committee, there is some healthy competition for the House Financial Services's gavel. McHenry was one of the inaugural recipients of the Friends of Traditional Banking Award.

Vying to succeed him are Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Rep. French Hill (R-AR). Barr was the first House race ever endorsed by FOTB in his close 2018 reelection campaign and has frequently visited with our group. "Thank you, Friends of Traditional Banking for your important role," Rep. Barr said to our leadership in a call last year. "Traditional banks are key to the vibrancy of our country," he said. Rep. Barr has unveiled a comprehensive plan if he is elected chairman of House Financial Services.

For his part, Rep. Hill is no stranger to the committee as its current vice chair, and is also a good friend of FOTB. In a call with FOTB leadership earlier this year, he thanked us for our efforts. Rep. Hill, the former Delta Trust & Banking Corporation founder and CEO, said that we need to continue to support traditional banking in America, which he noted Alexander Hamilton called "the nurseries of the national wealth." Rep. Hill has also put forth a solid plan in his candidacy for House Financial Services Committee chair.

As an organization, we are thrilled that one of these two great allies of free markets and a robust banking industry are likely to be the next chairman of this committee. Either one would be FANTASTIC for FOTB and America!

As a reader of this e-newsletter, you know that this is an important tool to help us get the word out about our three endorsed candidates each cycle. As our membership continues to grow and engage we are seeing a significant increase in email open rates. In 2022, we had 15,590 email opens during the campaign season, which grew 78% to 27,734 this year despite the same number of email blasts.

Our social media efforts on Facebook and Instagram grew, as well, in large part because our growing organization allowed us to increase our ad spending. In 2022, we had 19,510 click-throughs to donate or to learn more about our candidates from our social media ads. This year, we had a 90% increase to 37,046.

Likewise, we were able to double our direct mail efforts with two postcards this year instead of just one in 2022. Each postcard went to over 30,000 bankers and allies across the country, encouraging them to donate to our three candidates. This saw website traffic at friendsoftraditionalbanking.com shoot up five times over the previous election cycle.

As FEC reports get finalized in the weeks ahead, we'll know the true impact. But suffice to say, FOTB members from coast to coast were engaged and donated big to help Rep. David Schweikert (AZ) and Rep. Zach Nunn squeak to victory, and banker Eric Hovde nearly win a US Senate seat in Wisconsin.