The Hill News

Speaker-in-waiting John Boehner (R-Ohio) asked supporters Tuesday for donations to help him pad his new GOP majority in the House.

Boehner, the likely Speaker when Republicans in January take control of the House, leveraged his new position to raise money for eight Republican candidates whose races still haven't been called for either candidate.

"[T]hese Republican candidates need your help to ensure that every vote â€" including provisional and military ballots â€" is counted, and counted fairly," Boehner wrote in a fundraising e-mail for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

"That's why I'm asking you to please make a generous contribution to the NRCC post-election activities fund to protect the integrity of the vote in these districts and help strengthen our new Republican majority," the Ohio Republican added.

Boehner pointed to six districts â€" California's 20th, New York's 1st and 25th, North Carolina's 2nd, T! exas's 27th and Illinois's 8th â€" where GOP candidates have a slight edge, and two more â€" Kentucky's 6th and California's 11th â€" where Republicans are trailing by small margins.

Many of these races could drag on longer and incur expensive legal bills as candidates head to recounts and possible litigation over the outcome of the contests.

The appeal by Boehner is also significant as one of the first major attempts he's made to raise money since last Tuesday's election, when 60-some GOP candidates picked up seats in the House. 

The Republican leader, who still used that official title in his NRCC e-mail, had raised millions before the election to help aid those GOP candidates and had sent large chunks of money to the NRCC from his own campaign.