Unpacking RPAC
For the past 45 years, the REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) has promoted the election of pro-REALTOR® candidates across the United States. In this episode, ahead of the 2024 election, Shannon and Patrick "unpack" some of the most commonly asked RPAC questions and uncover why VEEP is Shannon's all time favorite political show.
2024-10-04
30 min
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1 00:00:05,010 --> 00:00:08,310 - Welcome to the advocacy scoop, the podcast that takes you 2 00:00:08,310 --> 00:00:11,640 inside the advocacy work of the National Association 3 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:15,060 of Realtors connecting 1.5 million members 4 00:00:15,060 --> 00:00:18,090 with their advocates in Washington for a front row seat 5 00:00:18,090 --> 00:00:21,480 to the fight for public policy that strengthens the ability 6 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,570 of Americans to access property ownership. 7 00:00:26,130 --> 00:00:27,300 - Hello everyone. Welcome back 8 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:28,980 to the advocacy Scoop podcast. 9 00:00:28,980 --> 00:00:30,930 I'm Patrick Newton, NAR's Director 10 00:00:30,930 --> 00:00:32,580 of Advocacy Communications. 11 00:00:32,580 --> 00:00:34,530 As always, I'm here with our fearless leader, 12 00:00:34,530 --> 00:00:38,010 Shannon McGahn, our Chief Advocacy Officer. Hello Shannon. 13 00:00:38,010 --> 00:00:40,560 - Thank you, Patrick. I'm thrilled to be here with you 14 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:42,780 and all of our listeners as always. 15 00:00:42,780 --> 00:00:45,420 - Well, you know, in Wedding Crashers when he, you know, 16 00:00:45,420 --> 00:00:47,645 Vince Vaughn is like, do you know what time here it is? 17 00:00:47,645 --> 00:00:49,410 And they're like, wedding season. 18 00:00:49,410 --> 00:00:52,830 And I'm like, for us, it's like election season. 19 00:00:52,830 --> 00:00:57,120 We're, we are like coming full scale into election season. 20 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,060 So our next two episodes of the podcast here in September, 21 00:01:00,060 --> 00:01:03,090 October and November are all gonna be election related. 22 00:01:03,090 --> 00:01:05,760 So Shannon, tell me, what is your favorite movie 23 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:07,560 or show about Congress? 24 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:08,970 - Oh, geez. About Congress. 25 00:01:08,970 --> 00:01:10,530 Well, I would say Wedding Crashers does have 26 00:01:10,530 --> 00:01:11,670 that political component, 27 00:01:11,670 --> 00:01:12,670 - John McCain's. 28 00:01:12,670 --> 00:01:15,060 - Exactly, exactly. But I would say my, 29 00:01:15,060 --> 00:01:17,820 my favorite political show, it's not just about Congress, 30 00:01:17,820 --> 00:01:20,250 but that is a component, is Veep. 31 00:01:20,250 --> 00:01:23,370 I have watched every season at least three times, 32 00:01:23,370 --> 00:01:25,530 and having worked on the Hill for almost 20 years, 33 00:01:25,530 --> 00:01:28,590 it is the most accurate show on television 34 00:01:28,590 --> 00:01:31,290 with the exception that there's actually more cursing 35 00:01:31,290 --> 00:01:34,290 and drinking in Congress than there is in Veep. 36 00:01:34,290 --> 00:01:36,480 But it is like ripped from the headline stuff. 37 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:38,370 Would highly recommend it if you are looking 38 00:01:38,370 --> 00:01:41,880 for some election season binge watching 39 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:42,900 - Tv, ma. 40 00:01:42,900 --> 00:01:45,060 So if you're a faint of heart, oh, that would, 41 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:49,170 but well, I'll say my favorite movie about Congress 42 00:01:49,170 --> 00:01:53,250 and 1992, the distinguished gentleman with Eddie Murphy. 43 00:01:53,250 --> 00:01:55,770 Oh, good. And of course, Shirley Ralph, who's incredible 44 00:01:55,770 --> 00:01:58,410 - Great call - IL he literally changed. 45 00:01:58,410 --> 00:01:59,880 - You were a child in 1992, Patrick. Of 46 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:00,880 - Course I was. 47 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:02,940 I was, I haven't even been born yet. Exactly. 48 00:02:02,940 --> 00:02:04,830 No, I I I love it. 49 00:02:04,830 --> 00:02:07,500 But you know, Eddie Murphy's running for Congress 50 00:02:07,500 --> 00:02:10,110 as a conman and he changes his name to the name 51 00:02:10,110 --> 00:02:11,940 of the congressman who just died. 52 00:02:11,940 --> 00:02:14,040 And his campaign slogan is the name, you know, 53 00:02:15,575 --> 00:02:17,760 and so nobody knew their congressman died, 54 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:19,560 so that's how he gets elected. But anyway, 55 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,000 - Well, if you actually go through the history 56 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,370 of our country and political campaigns, there was a lot 57 00:02:23,370 --> 00:02:25,710 of those kind of tricks going on over the years. 58 00:02:25,710 --> 00:02:28,380 So there's always room for, for more ideas there. 59 00:02:28,380 --> 00:02:31,770 - Well, equally as vulgar as Veep, so also TV MA, 60 00:02:31,770 --> 00:02:33,570 we won't be able to quote that on this episode. 61 00:02:33,570 --> 00:02:36,690 But anyway, back to business, we're talking about rpac, 62 00:02:36,690 --> 00:02:39,630 the Realtor Political Action Committee. 63 00:02:39,630 --> 00:02:42,690 So this episode called Unpacking rpac, we're going to go 64 00:02:42,690 --> 00:02:44,070 through everything you've ever wanted 65 00:02:44,070 --> 00:02:46,680 to know about rpac straight from the source from Shannon 66 00:02:47,730 --> 00:02:50,850 and, and what a political action committee is. 67 00:02:51,750 --> 00:02:54,060 So put your campaign finance on 68 00:02:54,060 --> 00:02:56,105 - Hat - On Shannon, tell us what a pack is 69 00:02:56,105 --> 00:02:57,600 - That that hat never comes off. 70 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,600 So Campaign A PAC is a political action committee. 71 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,360 It is one of those acronyms that actually makes sense 72 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:05,590 and fun fact, 73 00:03:05,590 --> 00:03:08,140 my very first full-time job here in Washington, 74 00:03:08,140 --> 00:03:11,080 DC in the summer of 1999 was working 75 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,560 for a political compliance firm that, 76 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:16,900 that represented about a half dozen 77 00:03:16,900 --> 00:03:18,100 different presidential campaigns. 78 00:03:18,100 --> 00:03:19,360 So you have to go through and make sure 79 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:21,910 that the checks back then they were physical checks, 80 00:03:21,910 --> 00:03:24,010 sometimes cash even sent in the mail, 81 00:03:24,010 --> 00:03:26,440 that the checks matched up with the compliance forms 82 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,380 and that they were all appropriately sent to the banks. 83 00:03:29,380 --> 00:03:31,060 And so it was a very exciting job in a way 84 00:03:31,060 --> 00:03:33,280 to see the grassroots of fundraising 85 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,830 and how it really happens from all over the country. 86 00:03:35,830 --> 00:03:38,650 So these are pacs are legally 87 00:03:38,650 --> 00:03:40,750 and highly regulated ways for groups 88 00:03:40,750 --> 00:03:43,480 of like-minded individuals to join together, 89 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:47,950 pool their resources and to support candidates for office. 90 00:03:47,950 --> 00:03:51,460 It is something that is done by many trade associations 91 00:03:51,460 --> 00:03:53,500 and other organizations around the country, 92 00:03:53,500 --> 00:03:55,570 but none as well as rpac. 93 00:03:55,570 --> 00:03:58,600 - I mean, we're the largest bipartisan 94 00:03:58,600 --> 00:03:59,920 PAC for sure in the nation. 95 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:02,440 Absolutely. Because we're powered by a million 96 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:03,670 and a half members 97 00:04:03,670 --> 00:04:04,670 - Power of purple. 98 00:04:04,670 --> 00:04:05,950 - Right. Power of purple. So the, 99 00:04:05,950 --> 00:04:07,480 the pacs go all the way back, 100 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:09,640 I guess 1943 I think was when the first 101 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:10,750 PAC was establishment. 102 00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:12,190 They've changed a lot over the years. 103 00:04:12,190 --> 00:04:16,210 So RPAC is what we call a, a separate segregated fund. 104 00:04:16,210 --> 00:04:20,410 It's basically means that it is the PAC 105 00:04:20,410 --> 00:04:22,900 that are organized by like a corporation 106 00:04:22,900 --> 00:04:26,230 or a member organization or trade association like ours. 107 00:04:26,230 --> 00:04:28,540 - Yes. And that separation is very important 108 00:04:28,540 --> 00:04:30,850 because a lot of times folks will say, oh, well, 109 00:04:30,850 --> 00:04:32,830 NAR you're spending these tens of millions 110 00:04:32,830 --> 00:04:34,030 of dollars on advocacy 111 00:04:34,030 --> 00:04:36,880 or these are on government relations efforts. 112 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,190 But the, the PAC is completely separate 113 00:04:39,190 --> 00:04:43,300 and it is powered by individual donations that are, again, 114 00:04:43,300 --> 00:04:46,450 highly regulated, legalistic, 115 00:04:46,450 --> 00:04:49,540 and that that occurs separate from those dues 116 00:04:49,540 --> 00:04:51,460 and other funds that go towards NAR. 117 00:04:51,460 --> 00:04:53,490 - And then there's non-connected pacs, which are, 118 00:04:53,490 --> 00:04:55,480 are not connected to an organization. 119 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,810 And then there's something called a super pac, 120 00:04:58,810 --> 00:05:01,750 which is not a pac That's awesome. 121 00:05:01,750 --> 00:05:05,080 It's just what does a super PAC mean? 122 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,590 - Well, super pacs were created somewhat more recently 123 00:05:08,590 --> 00:05:12,100 as a way to have unlimited funds from individuals 124 00:05:12,100 --> 00:05:14,260 and organizations and corporations 125 00:05:14,260 --> 00:05:16,480 that go towards independent expenditures. 126 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:18,850 So those are funds that will help to, 127 00:05:18,850 --> 00:05:22,360 to support the election or defeat of a candidate. 128 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:26,230 But it is not done in connection at all with the campaigns. 129 00:05:26,230 --> 00:05:29,680 So oftentimes, and you're seeing these big mega TV ads 130 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:31,000 and direct mail buys and, 131 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:32,920 and things that those are done through Super pacs. 132 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:35,080 - So I could start a pack, the, the pack 133 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:37,390 to convince everyone, Shannon is awesome 134 00:05:37,390 --> 00:05:38,950 - Patrick Pack - And, 135 00:05:38,950 --> 00:05:40,665 and I could not coordinate with you on 136 00:05:40,665 --> 00:05:41,950 that, the Patrick Pack. 137 00:05:41,950 --> 00:05:43,090 So now we know what a pack is. 138 00:05:43,090 --> 00:05:44,350 Let's walk through the options. 139 00:05:44,350 --> 00:05:47,325 I'm, I'm a, I'm, I'm an NAR member or 140 00:05:47,325 --> 00:05:48,400 or a member of the public 141 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:50,770 and I wanna support a political party 142 00:05:50,770 --> 00:05:52,060 or a certain candidate. 143 00:05:52,060 --> 00:05:53,620 So what options do we have? 144 00:05:53,620 --> 00:05:55,870 Option one is the most obvious one you donate 145 00:05:55,870 --> 00:05:57,740 directly to the candidate. 146 00:05:57,740 --> 00:06:00,530 - Exactly. We, and we have many o opportunities to do that. 147 00:06:00,530 --> 00:06:02,720 But it is important to note that RPAC 148 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,950 is not soliciting contributions from those outside of NAR. 149 00:06:06,950 --> 00:06:08,720 That there is a, because it has to be a group 150 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:12,170 of like-minded individuals that SOLICITABLE class are, 151 00:06:12,170 --> 00:06:14,570 or 1.5 million NAR members. 152 00:06:14,570 --> 00:06:17,960 There are other organizations out there who could be larger 153 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:19,220 and they can raise from more folks, 154 00:06:19,220 --> 00:06:21,260 but most are much, much smaller. 155 00:06:21,260 --> 00:06:25,400 But that 1.5 million members is the, the pool of folks who 156 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:26,840 can contribute to rpac. 157 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:30,560 - So I'm an NAR member, I want to donate to rpac. 158 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,340 What is step one in doing that? What, what's the limit? 159 00:06:34,340 --> 00:06:36,650 - So our PAC is a traditional pack 160 00:06:36,650 --> 00:06:38,360 and there are federal limits as to 161 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:39,530 how much you can contribute 162 00:06:39,530 --> 00:06:42,110 and how much the pack can contribute to candidates. 163 00:06:42,110 --> 00:06:44,630 So individuals have a contribution limit 164 00:06:44,630 --> 00:06:48,080 of $5,000 per year to the pack. 165 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:49,940 Our PAC can contribute up 166 00:06:49,940 --> 00:06:53,180 to $5,000 per candidate per cycle. 167 00:06:53,180 --> 00:06:56,300 And that means in the primary and in the general election. 168 00:06:56,300 --> 00:06:59,480 So that's $10,000 total for that cycle. 169 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,020 So that is a, the traditional pact like R pac, 170 00:07:03,020 --> 00:07:04,490 but then obviously with the party committees 171 00:07:04,490 --> 00:07:06,170 and others you have much higher limits. 172 00:07:06,170 --> 00:07:10,400 And so what we have seen over the past couple of decades is 173 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,640 that more and more funds can go directly towards candidates 174 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:15,710 up to $3,300 I believe. 175 00:07:15,710 --> 00:07:18,350 Now that can go towards the party committees 176 00:07:18,350 --> 00:07:20,420 that can go towards joint fundraising committees, 177 00:07:20,420 --> 00:07:22,940 which is a party committee working with the candidate 178 00:07:22,940 --> 00:07:25,160 and potentially with a state party and others. 179 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,520 And they combine those all into one account. 180 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:33,410 But that $5,000 for, for Federal pacs, it has not changed. 181 00:07:33,410 --> 00:07:35,240 You could say that that has diminished the value a little 182 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:36,800 bit when you're seeing races that used 183 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,350 to be a couple million dollars become tens of millions 184 00:07:39,350 --> 00:07:41,780 of dollars and senate races that get into the hundreds 185 00:07:41,780 --> 00:07:45,500 of millions of dollars of, of advertising and and spending. 186 00:07:45,500 --> 00:07:48,470 But, but that $5,000 is still very important 187 00:07:48,470 --> 00:07:51,500 because those are direct candidate dollars. 188 00:07:51,500 --> 00:07:53,540 They're called hard dollars that you can give directly 189 00:07:53,540 --> 00:07:56,330 to the candidate and that they are able to use 190 00:07:56,330 --> 00:07:57,590 for their campaign functions. 191 00:07:57,590 --> 00:07:59,450 - And just to, that's such a great point. 192 00:07:59,450 --> 00:08:01,930 And I, I was gonna mention, I I read just a, a, 193 00:08:01,930 --> 00:08:04,640 a few days ago a story in Axios. 194 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:06,980 So since the start of the year there's been 195 00:08:06,980 --> 00:08:11,450 $723 million worth of campaign ad buys 196 00:08:11,450 --> 00:08:13,160 for just three Senate races. 197 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,890 That's Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Montana. 198 00:08:15,890 --> 00:08:19,340 And those are obviously three of the, the big, 199 00:08:19,340 --> 00:08:22,880 the big races this year where they're actually is a swing. 200 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:23,960 They're, they're swing races 201 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:25,280 that could go either way at this point. 202 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:27,770 So, so you know, the, it just, the amount 203 00:08:27,770 --> 00:08:29,600 of money has ballooned 204 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:31,580 and that's unique here in the United States 205 00:08:31,580 --> 00:08:35,960 because, you know, we have such a long election season 206 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:38,060 - With a long election season, we don't have the, 207 00:08:38,060 --> 00:08:39,800 the public financing of campaigns. 208 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:40,970 But I I would also argue, 209 00:08:40,970 --> 00:08:44,960 because we do have early voting in an extended election 210 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,780 season and plus just all the different technology options 211 00:08:47,780 --> 00:08:51,380 that are available, that the old idea 212 00:08:51,380 --> 00:08:54,680 of putting up a couple of ads in October 213 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:56,970 and that's really going to get your message across. 214 00:08:56,970 --> 00:08:58,350 Patrick, do you watch ads? 215 00:08:58,350 --> 00:08:59,760 Are you just skipping through, I mean, 216 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,790 I'm sure you have like the YouTube premium, YouTube premium. 217 00:09:02,790 --> 00:09:04,320 I mean, 218 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,890 - I, I always read it like while the ad plays, I click over 219 00:09:07,890 --> 00:09:09,120 and read like a story 220 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:11,910 and then go back, go back when, like 30 seconds later. 221 00:09:11,910 --> 00:09:16,320 - Exactly. So the the creativity behind the advertising 222 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,810 and how you are reaching potential voters, 223 00:09:18,810 --> 00:09:21,930 and if that's mostly through your phone, if it's through 224 00:09:21,930 --> 00:09:25,680 billboards, if it's through television ads, direct mail, 225 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:26,610 these are all things that have 226 00:09:26,610 --> 00:09:27,840 become increasingly expensive. 227 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:30,150 But there have been more options for how to communicate. 228 00:09:30,150 --> 00:09:33,750 - Yeah, I, when I was a small town TV news anchor, i I, 229 00:09:33,750 --> 00:09:36,180 the salespeople used to love election years 230 00:09:36,180 --> 00:09:37,380 'cause they didn't have to do any work. 231 00:09:37,380 --> 00:09:39,420 They just could, you know, put their feet up on the desk 232 00:09:39,420 --> 00:09:42,210 and the the ad dollars just rolled in 233 00:09:42,210 --> 00:09:44,790 - From a buyer in DC Right, - Exactly. 234 00:09:44,790 --> 00:09:47,340 Especially in markets where the, it's relatively cheap. 235 00:09:47,340 --> 00:09:49,980 But now they have to do all this digital advertising on top 236 00:09:49,980 --> 00:09:51,330 of television and radio. 237 00:09:51,330 --> 00:09:53,460 - Exactly. It gets very expensive very quickly. 238 00:09:53,460 --> 00:09:55,320 - Yeah. And I, I, you know, just to, just 239 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,110 to double down on this, the Georgia Senate race between, 240 00:09:58,110 --> 00:10:01,740 you know, Warnock and Herschel Walker was just shy 241 00:10:01,740 --> 00:10:04,142 of a half billion dollars. 242 00:10:04,142 --> 00:10:06,270 And then the Pennsylvania race between Oz 243 00:10:06,270 --> 00:10:09,480 and Federman came in at $407 million. 244 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:11,700 So I mean these, those are, those are two 245 00:10:11,700 --> 00:10:13,170 of the most expensive races. 246 00:10:13,170 --> 00:10:15,030 But you know, it's not unheard of 247 00:10:15,030 --> 00:10:18,180 for a competitive house race to be tens 248 00:10:18,180 --> 00:10:19,380 of millions of dollars. 249 00:10:19,380 --> 00:10:22,230 - Oh, exactly. The, the attention span is short 250 00:10:22,230 --> 00:10:26,550 and these, these budgets better be pretty robust in order 251 00:10:26,550 --> 00:10:28,860 to get the attention of, especially of independent voters 252 00:10:28,860 --> 00:10:31,200 who may not be registered in one party or the other 253 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:36,060 and are constantly in, in the limelight 254 00:10:36,060 --> 00:10:37,380 and trying to get the attention 255 00:10:37,380 --> 00:10:39,000 or the campaigns are trying to get their attention 256 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:40,500 to, to sway their vote. 257 00:10:40,500 --> 00:10:42,930 - So we have the basics down about PACS and rpac. 258 00:10:42,930 --> 00:10:45,540 So let's talk about what makes rpac unique. 259 00:10:45,540 --> 00:10:48,750 We know it's powered by a million and a half NAR members. 260 00:10:48,750 --> 00:10:52,260 It's the largest bipartisan pack in the country. 261 00:10:52,260 --> 00:10:54,870 What are some of the other things that make it unique? 262 00:10:54,870 --> 00:10:58,740 - Well, as we mentioned earlier, it is voluntary advocacy. 263 00:10:58,740 --> 00:11:00,840 Dues dollars do not go to our pac. 264 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,860 Our PAC is RA money that is raised completely separately 265 00:11:04,860 --> 00:11:07,860 through the 1.5 million NAR members. 266 00:11:07,860 --> 00:11:10,140 It is also bipartisan, 267 00:11:10,140 --> 00:11:13,170 it is the largest most bipartisan pack in the country. 268 00:11:13,170 --> 00:11:16,740 We are always around the whatever congress looks like 269 00:11:16,740 --> 00:11:17,850 around the 50 50 mark. 270 00:11:17,850 --> 00:11:20,790 And so we are most political action committees 271 00:11:20,790 --> 00:11:23,940 that you'll see out there are focused on just a couple 272 00:11:23,940 --> 00:11:26,670 of issues or demographic, a certain area. 273 00:11:26,670 --> 00:11:28,920 And they'll be much more partisan in how they operate. 274 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,760 But we are always recognized for that bipartisan nature. 275 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,400 And though we always are hovering in the top political 276 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,150 spending spot in DC think of that when it comes to scale. 277 00:11:39,150 --> 00:11:42,540 So, you know, this isn't just one person's spending this 278 00:11:42,540 --> 00:11:44,640 money, it's a lot of times you'll see these mega 279 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:46,230 donors of what they're called. 280 00:11:46,230 --> 00:11:49,770 So folks who may have the ability to contribute tens 281 00:11:49,770 --> 00:11:51,690 of millions of dollars if not hundreds of millions 282 00:11:51,690 --> 00:11:52,770 of dollars to campaigns. 283 00:11:53,830 --> 00:11:56,080 Ours are coming from directly from members 284 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:58,630 who are giving a minimum of $15. 285 00:11:58,630 --> 00:12:03,250 So it is a, a much more kind of democratic process 286 00:12:03,250 --> 00:12:05,710 where we're speaking that, that those funds that are going 287 00:12:05,710 --> 00:12:08,620 to rpac are speaking for much a lot more people. 288 00:12:08,620 --> 00:12:10,570 And that process needs to represent all 289 00:12:10,570 --> 00:12:11,740 of those who are giving to the pac. 290 00:12:12,610 --> 00:12:15,070 And it's also important to know that when you're seeing 291 00:12:15,070 --> 00:12:17,500 those, those reports of the tens of millions of dollars 292 00:12:17,500 --> 00:12:20,170 that are spent by NAR in advocacy, that 293 00:12:20,170 --> 00:12:21,820 that does not include rpac. 294 00:12:21,820 --> 00:12:25,570 That is a completely separate organization. 295 00:12:25,570 --> 00:12:27,070 It is a completely separate governance. 296 00:12:27,070 --> 00:12:29,560 You can look on the F'S website to see exactly 297 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:32,110 where rpac dollars are, are going. 298 00:12:32,110 --> 00:12:33,310 But that is not included in 299 00:12:33,310 --> 00:12:35,710 what are called our lobbying disclosure forms 300 00:12:35,710 --> 00:12:37,420 that occur every quarter. 301 00:12:37,420 --> 00:12:39,370 Those are for different activities 302 00:12:39,370 --> 00:12:41,260 that are not RPAC related. 303 00:12:41,260 --> 00:12:45,400 So we do, we, we are the most transparent organization. 304 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:47,140 We share all of these details 305 00:12:47,140 --> 00:12:48,880 and we put out reports at the end 306 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:51,910 of each election cycle showing what are the races that, 307 00:12:51,910 --> 00:12:54,730 that we supported, where did independent expenditures go, 308 00:12:54,730 --> 00:12:56,110 where did PAC dollars go? 309 00:12:56,110 --> 00:12:58,060 And all of this is made available not just 310 00:12:58,060 --> 00:13:00,550 to our members, but to the public. 311 00:13:00,550 --> 00:13:02,980 - And, and that's great. We overshare when it comes 312 00:13:02,980 --> 00:13:05,470 to reportings, which is a good thing. 313 00:13:05,470 --> 00:13:07,180 But so, so with rpac, 314 00:13:08,945 --> 00:13:11,680 our members donate throughout the year. 315 00:13:11,680 --> 00:13:13,090 We have this pot of money 316 00:13:13,090 --> 00:13:16,300 and it has to be dispersed, it has to be given out. 317 00:13:16,300 --> 00:13:17,830 So a lot of the intrigue 318 00:13:17,830 --> 00:13:21,220 around RPAC comes from the disbursements process. 319 00:13:21,220 --> 00:13:23,320 And and the best way to describe this is 320 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:25,600 that it is locally led. 321 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:30,160 There is no Wizard of Oz in DC deciding where all 322 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,230 of this money gets sent. 323 00:13:32,230 --> 00:13:33,965 - If there is, is there a wicked witch? 324 00:13:33,965 --> 00:13:35,710 Is there east and west? I don't know. 325 00:13:35,710 --> 00:13:37,690 But, but it is exactly that. 326 00:13:37,690 --> 00:13:41,380 It is a locally led process by a member run committee 327 00:13:41,380 --> 00:13:44,680 that represents every region around the country. 328 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:47,530 There's, this is not a single issue pac, there are a lot 329 00:13:47,530 --> 00:13:48,790 of organizations where they, 330 00:13:48,790 --> 00:13:51,010 they care deeply about one or two issues. 331 00:13:51,010 --> 00:13:53,830 Housing impacts every single aspect of the economy. 332 00:13:53,830 --> 00:13:55,630 Every committee in Congress, 333 00:13:55,630 --> 00:13:57,370 you can argue is, is working on housing. 334 00:13:57,370 --> 00:13:59,620 And so elected officials and 335 00:13:59,620 --> 00:14:01,330 and candidates at all levels, local, state 336 00:14:01,330 --> 00:14:04,330 and federal will have to address housing issues. 337 00:14:04,330 --> 00:14:07,750 And so we make sure that this is covering every zip code, 338 00:14:07,750 --> 00:14:08,770 every political party. 339 00:14:08,770 --> 00:14:12,340 It is a bipartisan, nonpartisan, all omni partisan, 340 00:14:12,340 --> 00:14:14,470 however you would like to look at it. 341 00:14:14,470 --> 00:14:17,260 And then all these disbursement decisions are made 342 00:14:17,260 --> 00:14:20,830 with the local and state association's input. 343 00:14:20,830 --> 00:14:24,130 There's not a federal RPAC saying we wanna support candidate 344 00:14:24,130 --> 00:14:25,720 X and therefore doing it. 345 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:28,540 It is, hey local association, what do you think 346 00:14:28,540 --> 00:14:30,550 of this state association? 347 00:14:30,550 --> 00:14:32,680 Do you agree or would you enhance that? 348 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:33,820 Or would you minimize that? 349 00:14:33,820 --> 00:14:37,630 And then the federal disbursement trustees will make 350 00:14:37,630 --> 00:14:39,280 that ultimate decision based on all of 351 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:40,510 that input that comes in. 352 00:14:40,510 --> 00:14:42,580 That is incredibly important to remember 353 00:14:42,580 --> 00:14:44,860 because that means that we are not fighting against 354 00:14:44,860 --> 00:14:47,140 ourselves with spending federal PAC dollars 355 00:14:47,140 --> 00:14:50,080 that a state could say we don't appreciate that all 356 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:51,800 of the funding that goes through our pac, 357 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,700 the 15 minimum $15 is supported through the any state PACS 358 00:14:55,700 --> 00:14:57,320 that they have and also the national PAC 359 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,800 - And, and and the process because it's locally led. 360 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,790 'cause it's based off of housing issues. 361 00:15:04,790 --> 00:15:07,400 We don't, we don't swerve out of our lane. 362 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:09,080 And, and let's be honest, people want us to, 363 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:13,010 people like sometimes there's a, there's a national issue 364 00:15:13,010 --> 00:15:15,380 that is people are very passionate about 365 00:15:16,580 --> 00:15:20,510 from foreign affairs to, you know, healthcare to whatnot. 366 00:15:20,510 --> 00:15:24,020 But we, we we, we focus the process on housing issues. 367 00:15:24,020 --> 00:15:26,750 And sometimes that's tough to do 368 00:15:26,750 --> 00:15:28,820 'cause people are very passionate about politics these days. 369 00:15:28,820 --> 00:15:30,050 But, but 370 00:15:30,050 --> 00:15:32,060 because of that, you know, it sort 371 00:15:32,060 --> 00:15:34,760 of drives us toward candidates that are more centrist 372 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:37,430 and sort of incumbent friendly 373 00:15:37,430 --> 00:15:40,010 because they have a track record of voting, 374 00:15:40,010 --> 00:15:43,730 but those who are looking to reach across the aisle 375 00:15:43,730 --> 00:15:46,370 and make compromises on, 376 00:15:46,370 --> 00:15:49,070 on legislation importing to the housing economy. 377 00:15:49,070 --> 00:15:51,290 - Exactly. And we, and we can put this in the notes, 378 00:15:51,290 --> 00:15:54,980 but the, if you look at last year's report on the candidates 379 00:15:54,980 --> 00:15:58,340 that we supported and our amazing 95% plus 380 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:00,830 winning track record. 381 00:16:00,830 --> 00:16:02,660 And those are exactly the types of candidates 382 00:16:02,660 --> 00:16:05,990 who are working across the aisle who are issue focused 383 00:16:05,990 --> 00:16:10,010 and who are considering real estate related issues. 384 00:16:10,010 --> 00:16:11,600 And the other thing is that the rpac, 385 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:13,460 the disbursements trustees 386 00:16:13,460 --> 00:16:16,400 and the fundraising trustees who all work on these issues, 387 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:18,350 they're not the ones making that determination. 388 00:16:18,350 --> 00:16:20,570 We have policy throughout our organization 389 00:16:20,570 --> 00:16:23,750 that are developed by members around the country 390 00:16:23,750 --> 00:16:25,250 through our policy committees 391 00:16:25,250 --> 00:16:29,330 and we stick to where our policy exists as an organization. 392 00:16:29,330 --> 00:16:31,940 - Now you, you just mentioned that you can give as little 393 00:16:31,940 --> 00:16:34,220 as $15 to apac, 394 00:16:35,180 --> 00:16:37,640 but what, you know, some folks, they they want to, 395 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:39,770 they wanna max out and part of the fun 396 00:16:39,770 --> 00:16:41,420 of maxing out is the bling. 397 00:16:41,420 --> 00:16:43,910 I mean, 'cause realtor, our members love their bling. 398 00:16:43,910 --> 00:16:46,370 And I remember the first president circle, 399 00:16:46,370 --> 00:16:47,690 we'll talk about President Circle in a bit, 400 00:16:47,690 --> 00:16:50,660 but the first President Circle conference that I went to 401 00:16:50,660 --> 00:16:52,520 and also realtor party training conference. 402 00:16:54,110 --> 00:16:58,040 I mean, people have sashes on that, that, 403 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,370 that are just covered in their rpac pens. 404 00:17:01,370 --> 00:17:02,565 - Where do you get a sash? I need, I 405 00:17:02,565 --> 00:17:03,565 - Don't have a sash. 406 00:17:03,565 --> 00:17:04,490 I mean, just listen, I'm an Eagle Scout 407 00:17:04,490 --> 00:17:06,620 and listen, the, the most fun thing about an Eagle Scout is 408 00:17:06,620 --> 00:17:08,090 getting to wear your merit badge sash 409 00:17:08,090 --> 00:17:09,290 with all your merit badges on it. 410 00:17:09,290 --> 00:17:11,180 'cause it's kind of like, it's like your bling, you know, 411 00:17:11,180 --> 00:17:12,260 for all your accomplishments. 412 00:17:12,260 --> 00:17:15,620 But, but yeah, no, I mean you, you, 413 00:17:15,620 --> 00:17:19,580 there's rpac major investor recognition pins 414 00:17:19,580 --> 00:17:22,550 that you get if you become a major investor. 415 00:17:22,550 --> 00:17:27,050 And among that category you have sterling, 416 00:17:27,050 --> 00:17:29,360 crystal golden and platinum Rs. 417 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:32,030 And so you get a pen that signifies 418 00:17:32,030 --> 00:17:33,830 that you were a major investor at 419 00:17:33,830 --> 00:17:34,910 that level and in what year. 420 00:17:34,910 --> 00:17:37,850 And then there's also Rpac Hall of Fame, which is, which is 421 00:17:37,850 --> 00:17:38,810 what Shannon, what do you have 422 00:17:38,810 --> 00:17:40,580 to do, get in the Hall of Fame? 423 00:17:40,580 --> 00:17:43,400 - I just got into Hall of Fame, I'd rather not say, 424 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:45,470 but it, so Hall 425 00:17:45,470 --> 00:17:49,560 of Fame are recognizes members whose APAC investments total 426 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:53,430 an aggregate lifetime amount of at least $25,000. 427 00:17:53,430 --> 00:17:55,800 So members who are installed in the Hall 428 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:57,450 of Fame at the realtors legislative meetings, 429 00:17:57,450 --> 00:18:00,330 they get a plaque on the roof of our beautiful building 430 00:18:00,330 --> 00:18:02,040 that we're sitting in here at 431 00:18:03,150 --> 00:18:06,060 overlooking our nation's ca capital building. 432 00:18:06,060 --> 00:18:07,815 And so there's the hall of fame status 433 00:18:07,815 --> 00:18:12,180 and many other benefits including recognition 434 00:18:12,180 --> 00:18:15,150 and some other parties and things going on. 435 00:18:15,150 --> 00:18:17,610 But it's really for those who have shown, not just 436 00:18:17,610 --> 00:18:21,300 that they're willing to, to given one election cycle, 437 00:18:21,300 --> 00:18:23,370 but they're doing it over the course of a lifetime. 438 00:18:23,370 --> 00:18:25,230 And that they've made this commitment to apac 439 00:18:25,230 --> 00:18:28,260 and it's a, an incredibly successful program. 440 00:18:28,260 --> 00:18:29,850 I can still remember the first time I went 441 00:18:29,850 --> 00:18:33,540 to a major investor event at the first annual meeting 442 00:18:33,540 --> 00:18:34,800 and I thought, oh, I'm going to go in 443 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:36,630 and it'll be this small room with, you know, 444 00:18:36,630 --> 00:18:37,980 a hundred people or something. 445 00:18:37,980 --> 00:18:41,370 Thousands of people are in this room and there's a band. 446 00:18:41,370 --> 00:18:45,180 And it was a, you know, a this a really great energy 447 00:18:45,180 --> 00:18:47,460 of folks who understand that this is the engine 448 00:18:47,460 --> 00:18:49,470 that fuels our political advocacy efforts 449 00:18:49,470 --> 00:18:53,880 and it is worth giving $15, a thousand dollars, $2,000, 450 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:55,560 $5,000 the max. 451 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:56,730 And we have seen 452 00:18:56,730 --> 00:18:58,980 that it's just grown in success over the years. 453 00:18:58,980 --> 00:19:00,870 - And we also have bling for our associations. 454 00:19:00,870 --> 00:19:04,470 There's the President Cup awards, which are for, for state 455 00:19:04,470 --> 00:19:07,080 and local associations who meet their advocacy goals 456 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,380 and then their fundraising at the end of the year. 457 00:19:10,380 --> 00:19:13,380 And we're something called the, the Triple Crown Award, 458 00:19:13,380 --> 00:19:14,670 which rec recognizes state 459 00:19:14,670 --> 00:19:17,340 and local associations who meet their RPAC goals during, 460 00:19:17,340 --> 00:19:19,140 during the fundraising year. 461 00:19:19,140 --> 00:19:21,840 Corporate allies as well. There's a corporate ally pin. 462 00:19:23,070 --> 00:19:26,760 So the the, there's all sorts of, of different ways 463 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:30,540 to be recognized for for contributions to rpac. 464 00:19:30,540 --> 00:19:33,330 - Oh, exactly. And the corporate ally program is a separate 465 00:19:33,330 --> 00:19:36,330 one from rpac that is for, for those who give 466 00:19:36,330 --> 00:19:37,470 to corporate donations. 467 00:19:37,470 --> 00:19:39,690 And so yes, we all have their pins 468 00:19:39,690 --> 00:19:43,020 and it is very interesting to when, when you're talking 469 00:19:43,020 --> 00:19:46,020 with someone to just see the elevation of, of how they 470 00:19:46,020 --> 00:19:47,790 or the evolution of their pins. 471 00:19:47,790 --> 00:19:51,540 And everybody remembers that first rpac investment. 472 00:19:51,540 --> 00:19:53,010 And they also remember the last one, 473 00:19:54,690 --> 00:19:55,830 - Well we, we, we've talked about 474 00:19:55,830 --> 00:19:57,000 present circle a few times. 475 00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,460 So you've got, you've got your major investor pins, 476 00:19:59,460 --> 00:20:01,020 you've got your different levels. 477 00:20:01,020 --> 00:20:05,850 Now once you hit major investor, there's actually a level 478 00:20:05,850 --> 00:20:08,490 above that called President Circle. 479 00:20:08,490 --> 00:20:11,225 And this is not a car rental status 480 00:20:11,225 --> 00:20:16,225 for the President Circle is the elite of the elite 481 00:20:16,260 --> 00:20:17,520 of APAC giving. 482 00:20:18,390 --> 00:20:21,060 And what do you get in President Circle? 483 00:20:21,060 --> 00:20:22,290 - I need to find out which one came 484 00:20:22,290 --> 00:20:23,490 first of the President Circle. 485 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,470 But yeah, so, so President Circle is a, a, a very special 486 00:20:28,470 --> 00:20:32,370 and unique program that includes a minimum contribution 487 00:20:32,370 --> 00:20:34,320 of $1,000 to rpac. 488 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,110 And then you're also agreeing to participate in the program 489 00:20:37,110 --> 00:20:40,350 that recognizes candidates who are running for office 490 00:20:40,350 --> 00:20:43,590 that you'll give $2,000 aggregate to those candidates 491 00:20:43,590 --> 00:20:45,510 or party committees that are recommended 492 00:20:45,510 --> 00:20:47,020 through the President Circle program. 493 00:20:47,020 --> 00:20:49,930 And so that is a half dozen or so elected officials. 494 00:20:49,930 --> 00:20:51,700 They're usually sitting federal officials 495 00:20:51,700 --> 00:20:53,680 and members of Congress of the House and the Senate. 496 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,050 And those are people who have been working across the aisle 497 00:20:56,050 --> 00:20:58,150 who have been champions on our issues, 498 00:20:58,150 --> 00:21:00,190 who the states have consistently had a good 499 00:21:00,190 --> 00:21:01,870 relationship with or recommended. 500 00:21:01,870 --> 00:21:03,310 Those are called realtor champions. 501 00:21:03,310 --> 00:21:04,720 And you can always check those out 502 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:06,250 through our President Circle materials. 503 00:21:06,250 --> 00:21:08,290 - So this is a program that's near and dear to my heart 504 00:21:08,290 --> 00:21:11,920 because the President Circle members are invited 505 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,140 to President Circle conference each year 506 00:21:14,140 --> 00:21:17,500 where we have some really great political programming 507 00:21:18,340 --> 00:21:21,070 in recognition of the program. 508 00:21:21,070 --> 00:21:24,640 But we, we invite some of the members of Congress 509 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,560 who have been in the present circle program 510 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:30,490 and we invite other political speakers to hear from them. 511 00:21:30,490 --> 00:21:33,460 It's a great event. I I'm sort of in charge 512 00:21:33,460 --> 00:21:36,040 of the programming of it, so it's very near and dear to me. 513 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:40,545 But sometimes, you know, you, you see a, a a someone speak 514 00:21:40,545 --> 00:21:43,840 and their numbers just start going up, you know, 515 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:46,210 from from people in the audience who are so inspired 516 00:21:46,210 --> 00:21:48,760 by the speaker, they want to immediately donate 517 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:49,780 to that candidate. 518 00:21:49,780 --> 00:21:51,190 And you can see that in live time. 519 00:21:51,190 --> 00:21:55,540 But, but with that said, so how do these, 520 00:21:55,540 --> 00:21:59,050 this this list of, of present circle candidates, 521 00:21:59,050 --> 00:22:00,700 how, how are they chosen? 522 00:22:00,700 --> 00:22:03,070 - So those candidates are also chosen 523 00:22:03,070 --> 00:22:05,800 through the APAC disbursement trustees, but it's usually 524 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:08,770 because we have a lengthy track record in working 525 00:22:08,770 --> 00:22:10,690 with those candidates and and elected officials. 526 00:22:10,690 --> 00:22:12,070 And it's also important to note 527 00:22:12,070 --> 00:22:14,410 that when we have the President Circle conference 528 00:22:14,410 --> 00:22:15,760 or any of these other programmings 529 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:17,650 and Patrick, you do a fantastic job 530 00:22:17,650 --> 00:22:19,510 of bringing in such diverse 531 00:22:19,510 --> 00:22:21,250 and fun voices, 532 00:22:21,250 --> 00:22:24,250 especially when they argue those are my favorite is when you 533 00:22:24,250 --> 00:22:26,800 bring in a Republican pollster and a democratic pollster 534 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,800 or consultants and then you can kind of just all 535 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:33,370 of the political junkies of, of the realtor world 536 00:22:33,370 --> 00:22:35,590 who really enjoy going to these sessions. 537 00:22:35,590 --> 00:22:38,050 And it's, as you scratch that itch of just, I wanna be able 538 00:22:38,050 --> 00:22:39,910 to talk politics, but in a way 539 00:22:39,910 --> 00:22:43,180 that we're all working on the, on the same issues 540 00:22:43,180 --> 00:22:45,550 and we all care about each other's success, 541 00:22:45,550 --> 00:22:47,560 but also let's make it a little interesting. 542 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,010 So you do a great job with, with all that programming and, 543 00:22:51,010 --> 00:22:52,660 and yeah, those decisions are made through the trustees, 544 00:22:52,660 --> 00:22:54,640 but that's also because those are folks who we know 545 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,700 that are local and state associations have supported 546 00:22:57,700 --> 00:22:59,260 and that they have that long track record 547 00:22:59,260 --> 00:23:01,450 of being champions on these important issues. 548 00:23:01,450 --> 00:23:04,030 - And these are champions of champions. 549 00:23:04,030 --> 00:23:08,380 These are, this is the, the, the folks in congress 550 00:23:08,380 --> 00:23:10,300 who are taking the lead on salt 551 00:23:10,300 --> 00:23:12,730 who are taking the lead on 10 31 552 00:23:12,730 --> 00:23:15,850 who are really going out there on our issues 553 00:23:15,850 --> 00:23:19,150 and we want to support them in every way possible. 554 00:23:19,150 --> 00:23:21,190 - Yes. And when you go and you log into the account 555 00:23:21,190 --> 00:23:25,300 and you can see the little blurb that that shares a, that 556 00:23:25,300 --> 00:23:27,790 that candidate's bio and their history on these issues. 557 00:23:27,790 --> 00:23:30,520 And that's the advocacy team works to make sure that we know 558 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,580 that, that those, those those bios are getting read 559 00:23:33,580 --> 00:23:35,980 and that we're really also championing 560 00:23:35,980 --> 00:23:37,090 those who champion us. 561 00:23:37,090 --> 00:23:38,830 - Yeah. And so you give to rpac, 562 00:23:38,830 --> 00:23:41,260 you become a major investor Now when you give to rpac, 563 00:23:41,260 --> 00:23:43,000 you're giving to both political parties. 564 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,490 It is money that goes through the disbursements process. 565 00:23:46,490 --> 00:23:47,750 It's given out to Republicans 566 00:23:47,750 --> 00:23:51,590 and Democrats who are great on real estate issues. 567 00:23:51,590 --> 00:23:54,020 When you get to the President's circle level, you can pick 568 00:23:54,020 --> 00:23:55,550 and choose anyone off the list 569 00:23:55,550 --> 00:23:56,885 basically. Exactly. To give to. 570 00:23:56,885 --> 00:23:59,810 - Exactly. - And then, so if you want to give to Republican 571 00:23:59,810 --> 00:24:01,700 or democratic candidates more 572 00:24:01,700 --> 00:24:04,640 or that, then the other then you certainly are welcome to. 573 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:06,080 But that's the choir, right? 574 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:08,240 I always like to say rpac is, is the choir. 575 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:10,850 They get it, they know how important RPAC is. 576 00:24:10,850 --> 00:24:14,300 They leave the, that conference so inspired. 577 00:24:14,300 --> 00:24:17,750 And even sometimes I, like last year I, I know that, 578 00:24:17,750 --> 00:24:19,820 you know, when we, when we announced you know, the speakers 579 00:24:19,820 --> 00:24:20,930 for it, some folks might think, 580 00:24:20,930 --> 00:24:23,420 well I wish you had more people on the right 581 00:24:23,420 --> 00:24:25,490 or I wish you had some more voices from the left. 582 00:24:25,490 --> 00:24:26,960 But we try to keep it very even. 583 00:24:28,130 --> 00:24:31,940 And if you look at it over the years, it is very, very even. 584 00:24:31,940 --> 00:24:33,860 But we also try to make it reflective 585 00:24:33,860 --> 00:24:36,380 of current political environment as well. 586 00:24:36,380 --> 00:24:38,930 But you know, with that said, people have come in 587 00:24:38,930 --> 00:24:40,010 and said to said, oh, 588 00:24:40,010 --> 00:24:40,843 I wish you had had more 589 00:24:40,843 --> 00:24:42,020 speakers from this side or the other. 590 00:24:42,020 --> 00:24:44,180 And then by the end of the conference they're just like, 591 00:24:44,180 --> 00:24:47,780 wow, now I get it like this, I get it. 592 00:24:47,780 --> 00:24:49,790 Like this is so important. So 593 00:24:49,790 --> 00:24:51,230 - It is one of the most satisfying parts 594 00:24:51,230 --> 00:24:52,820 of the President Circle conference and, 595 00:24:52,820 --> 00:24:55,490 and just hearing the reviews afterwards 596 00:24:55,490 --> 00:24:56,930 and folks are like, I really thought I was going 597 00:24:56,930 --> 00:24:58,670 to hate Speaker X, but turns out 598 00:24:58,670 --> 00:25:00,530 that it was really exciting. So 599 00:25:00,530 --> 00:25:02,060 - Yeah, it's like going to a tent revival. 600 00:25:02,060 --> 00:25:03,470 Yeah. But 601 00:25:03,470 --> 00:25:06,230 - For, and if everyone's angry then no one's angry. 602 00:25:06,230 --> 00:25:08,960 But if it balances out on, on on the, 603 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:10,130 the the r versus D side. 604 00:25:10,130 --> 00:25:11,750 But over the years we, we, 605 00:25:11,750 --> 00:25:16,490 we've really put together a solid bipartisan team 606 00:25:16,490 --> 00:25:18,050 of speakers who, who make you think 607 00:25:18,050 --> 00:25:20,660 and the the reviews have come back and they've been raving. 608 00:25:20,660 --> 00:25:23,810 - Now we have lots of, if you go to our website, 609 00:25:23,810 --> 00:25:28,580 the realtor party website, which is, has loads of resources, 610 00:25:28,580 --> 00:25:31,010 but there's a, it's called the realtor party resource guide. 611 00:25:31,010 --> 00:25:32,390 So you can just Google that 612 00:25:32,390 --> 00:25:34,370 and it's filled with all of our different grants 613 00:25:34,370 --> 00:25:39,260 and programs for local state associations to use 614 00:25:39,260 --> 00:25:42,860 as far as meeting their RA goals and, 615 00:25:42,860 --> 00:25:44,480 and fundraising goals and that type of thing. 616 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:46,250 So I definitely encourage you to check that out. 617 00:25:46,250 --> 00:25:48,860 But we're starting to run out of time. 618 00:25:48,860 --> 00:25:51,680 So that means it's closing time Shannon. 619 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:56,540 And I'm very excited about our next episode 620 00:25:56,540 --> 00:26:00,770 because it will be coming to you live from the realtor 621 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,040 realtor next in Boston 622 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,340 where we will be doing a live episode once again on stage. 623 00:26:07,340 --> 00:26:10,580 And this will be two days after election day. 624 00:26:10,580 --> 00:26:13,130 So we will not drop the podcast the first Friday. 625 00:26:13,130 --> 00:26:14,600 We will have to delay it a week so 626 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:15,890 that we'll be able to do this. 627 00:26:15,890 --> 00:26:19,550 But will you and I will be on stage live talking election 628 00:26:19,550 --> 00:26:24,350 results and I did a little sleuthing from four years ago. 629 00:26:24,350 --> 00:26:27,140 So we will be up there two days after election day. 630 00:26:27,140 --> 00:26:30,020 But four years ago the White House wasn't called 631 00:26:30,020 --> 00:26:31,940 until four days after election day. 632 00:26:31,940 --> 00:26:35,030 That's when Pennsylvania was finally called. 633 00:26:35,030 --> 00:26:38,990 And we may not know, we didn't know the Senate 634 00:26:38,990 --> 00:26:40,520 until the following January 635 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:42,650 because as we just talked about, we had that big, 636 00:26:42,650 --> 00:26:44,130 that big expensive race. 637 00:26:44,130 --> 00:26:45,570 There were two runoffs in Georgia 638 00:26:46,650 --> 00:26:50,430 and then the next morning the AP reported 639 00:26:50,430 --> 00:26:51,660 that the Democrats would likely 640 00:26:51,660 --> 00:26:52,830 re retain control of the house. 641 00:26:52,830 --> 00:26:54,840 So anyway, we just don't know when it's gonna be called, 642 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:56,520 but we'll be going over the results live on 643 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:57,685 stage. So that'll be fun. We 644 00:26:57,685 --> 00:26:59,055 - Might be winging it, Patrick. 645 00:26:59,055 --> 00:27:00,750 - We'll see. I mean we might be winging it, 646 00:27:00,750 --> 00:27:03,300 but you never know what's gonna happen. 647 00:27:03,300 --> 00:27:06,090 But I hear you have the scoop for us on some, 648 00:27:06,090 --> 00:27:07,380 on some fresh RPAC 649 00:27:07,380 --> 00:27:08,380 - Numbers. 650 00:27:08,380 --> 00:27:12,000 Well, sure. So I will give the scoop as of July 31st, 651 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:13,980 which is the last date that the rpac fundraising 652 00:27:13,980 --> 00:27:15,750 numbers were reported. 653 00:27:15,750 --> 00:27:18,900 RPAC has reached 67% of its national goal 654 00:27:18,900 --> 00:27:23,340 with $33.46 million raised at all three levels 655 00:27:23,340 --> 00:27:24,780 of the association 656 00:27:24,780 --> 00:27:29,340 and has hit 93% of its federal disbursements allocation goal 657 00:27:29,340 --> 00:27:32,640 with 9.28 million raised at the national level. 658 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,990 Arpac has 6,446 major investors 659 00:27:36,990 --> 00:27:40,530 and 30% participation rate. 660 00:27:40,530 --> 00:27:43,530 We also, since we're we're doing closing time 661 00:27:43,530 --> 00:27:46,260 and some scoop here, we have some exciting things happening 662 00:27:46,260 --> 00:27:47,460 in the RPAC world 663 00:27:47,460 --> 00:27:50,100 that are being announced in the coming weeks. 664 00:27:50,100 --> 00:27:52,800 An idea that is more than five years in the making. 665 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,800 The RPAC team is launching a new low dollar direct 666 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:58,680 to candidate giving program this month. 667 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,710 After numerous conversations with the APAC trustees 668 00:28:01,710 --> 00:28:04,320 and doing working groups 669 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,980 and conducting industry research, we are very thrilled 670 00:28:07,980 --> 00:28:10,290 that this is coming to life. 671 00:28:10,290 --> 00:28:12,960 This is for folks who are donating to candidates, 672 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:14,250 maybe doing that already. 673 00:28:14,250 --> 00:28:17,640 There's about $45 million in the real estate space right now 674 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:19,050 that goes directly to candidates. 675 00:28:19,050 --> 00:28:21,600 And that's just of reportable contributions. 676 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:25,470 If you donate under $200, which many folks are doing now, 677 00:28:25,470 --> 00:28:27,630 that may not need to be reported. 678 00:28:27,630 --> 00:28:30,660 And so this platform is designed to ensure 679 00:28:30,660 --> 00:28:31,770 that when realtors 680 00:28:31,770 --> 00:28:34,470 or anybody interested in private property rights 681 00:28:34,470 --> 00:28:37,410 and housing related issues is donating directly 682 00:28:37,410 --> 00:28:39,930 to a candidate, a low dollar donation, 683 00:28:39,930 --> 00:28:41,550 that they have a platform to do that. 684 00:28:41,550 --> 00:28:44,160 So there's Act Blue out there and there's Win Red 685 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:46,830 and those are both considered partisan portals in order 686 00:28:46,830 --> 00:28:49,530 to help contributions get to the candidates. 687 00:28:49,530 --> 00:28:51,210 This one is non-partisan 688 00:28:51,210 --> 00:28:53,790 and it is fully related to property rights 689 00:28:53,790 --> 00:28:54,840 and housing issues. 690 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:56,910 And we're very excited about this new venture. 691 00:28:56,910 --> 00:28:57,990 - Five years in the making. 692 00:28:57,990 --> 00:29:00,540 Another one of your visionary ideas is coming. 693 00:29:00,540 --> 00:29:01,805 - Think modern. Think modern. - That's 694 00:29:01,805 --> 00:29:02,638 - Modern. Think 695 00:29:02,638 --> 00:29:03,130 - Modern. 696 00:29:03,130 --> 00:29:03,963 That's your goal. We're, well 697 00:29:03,963 --> 00:29:05,250 - The trustees really understood this 698 00:29:05,250 --> 00:29:09,000 and the, both the fundraising and the disbursement side and, 699 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,940 but wanted to, to do a deep dive into really understand the 700 00:29:11,940 --> 00:29:12,960 fundraising industry 701 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:14,670 and what we saw were just these tens of millions 702 00:29:14,670 --> 00:29:17,010 of dollars out there that are, that are being donated 703 00:29:17,010 --> 00:29:19,320 by our members, by folks who care about the same issues. 704 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:21,150 And this way we're giving them a platform to do it. 705 00:29:21,150 --> 00:29:25,140 - Well, a recap, halfway through the year already, 67% 706 00:29:25,140 --> 00:29:29,700 of our goal, almost 6,500 major investors, that's 30% 707 00:29:29,700 --> 00:29:33,990 of our 1.5 million membership have given to rpac, just takes 708 00:29:33,990 --> 00:29:35,070 as little as $15. 709 00:29:35,070 --> 00:29:37,890 And as I like to say, it is the absolute ultimate insurance 710 00:29:37,890 --> 00:29:42,280 policy for your business to make sure that the issues 711 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:46,090 for real estate that are most important are being protected 712 00:29:46,090 --> 00:29:47,110 in our nation's capital. 713 00:29:47,110 --> 00:29:49,180 So, well thank you Shannon. 714 00:29:49,180 --> 00:29:54,040 I will see you in a few weeks in Boston. 715 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:56,170 I'm gonna get out my winter coat. 716 00:29:56,170 --> 00:29:57,910 I, I lived in Boston for a, a short while 717 00:29:57,910 --> 00:29:59,470 and I have a, what's called a Boston coat, 718 00:30:00,460 --> 00:30:02,860 which I've never used ever since I left Boston 719 00:30:02,860 --> 00:30:05,170 'cause it never gets cold enough anywhere to use it. 720 00:30:05,170 --> 00:30:08,680 But, but we'll see you in Boston live from, from the stage. 721 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:11,140 So if you're coming to next, come 722 00:30:11,140 --> 00:30:16,140 by the advocacy scoop session and take, come see Shannon. 723 00:30:16,810 --> 00:30:18,250 - Thank you. Well, we'll see. 724 00:30:18,250 --> 00:30:20,800 We'll, we'll see you all after the election. 725 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:22,600 - That's right. So that's the scoop. 726 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:25,210 Thank you to everyone listening to this podcast. 727 00:30:25,210 --> 00:30:26,380 Please be sure to subscribe 728 00:30:26,380 --> 00:30:28,690 and share wherever you get your podcast. 729 00:30:28,690 --> 00:30:30,760 And meet us right back here for more advocacy 730 00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:31,780 - Scoop next time. 731 00:30:33,070 --> 00:30:36,105 Realtors are members of the National Association 732 00:30:36,105 --> 00:30:36,938 of Realtors.
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