Vulnerable Republicans get a $25K convention pass

• But the run-up has been rocky, with lawmakers grumbling about logistics and balking at the price tag.
• Only about 100 lawmakers and candidates are expected to attend, a source familiar with the planning told Axios.

And then there are the presumed beneficiaries: the at-risk lawmakers who could win their races on the backs of a flush NRCC, which is already pumping money into their districts through new coordinated campaigns.

• One frontline Republican told Axios that if they had to pay the $25,000, "there's no way I would go."
• Even with the exemption, several vulnerable Republicans plan to skip the convention and campaign in their districts instead.

Driving the news: Multiple lawmakers told Axios that members of the NRCC's Patriot program — its designation for vulnerable incumbents — are not being required to pay the $25,000 to attend the convention.

• Other members have been asked to pay up, prompting complaints among rank-and-file Republicans who were already less than enthusiastic about attending.
• "It's $25,000, apparently," Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told reporters this week when asked if he would attend. "It's pretty steep."
• "Not everybody is a fundraising juggernaut, and some of those folks feel it's better spent on themselves," Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-Texas) told Axios.

What you get: The $25,000 package includes two convention tickets, access to a hotel room in the NRCC block and two spots at the chairman's welcome reception, according to an NRCC flyer.

• Members can contribute as much as $100,000 for additional perks, including breakfast with House leadership.
• Only new contributions count toward the convention packages, meaning money that members gave the NRCC earlier in the cycle doesn't count.

The intrigue: Several Republicans Axios spoke with were unaware that some members were being exempted from the $25,000 fee, and others said the rules surrounding who actually has to pay have been murky.

• "They've been really vague. Initially, it seemed like everyone had to pay. Even we thought that maybe we had to," Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), a Patriot member, told Axios.
• Ciscomani said he later received guidance indicating that Patriots were exempt but that members in safer districts were still asking leadership this week whether they had to pay.
• "The answer was kind of like, you know, come talk to us and case-by-case basis," he said.

Zoom in: The relatively late rollout of convention details has added to the confusion among lawmakers, some of whom had already made other commitments.

• "We didn't get all the information about the convention at once. It kept coming out little by little, and that's when the price tag also came out at some point, and we were like 'Whoa, never mind,'" Ciscomani said. "I think that they're figuring it out as they go."

Between the lines: For some Republicans facing tough reelection fights, the higher cost isn't the $25,000 — it's time away from the campaign trail.

• "A lot of folks are focused on being in their districts, talking to their constituents, making sure they're touching base on issues and with stakeholders, so they can win their reelection," Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) told Axios.

The other side: Republicans who did shell out the $25,000 largely shrugged off the exemptions.

• "I hope that they actually use their good judgment to figure out who needs to pay and who doesn't," Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) told Axios. "Only $25,000, I'm okay."
• "We're trying to use this as an ability for other team members to help other team members," Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) told Axios, likening the fee to members' NRCC dues. "We're all being team members; we're helping to pitch in."

"I paid the 25K," Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) told Axios, adding that if some members can't afford it, "I'm okay with it."

• Ellzey, who also paid, said there is "no requirement to pay, no requirement to go," but added: "If you've got the resources to help, I'm a team player, so I'm helping out."