New fundraising reports detail how much Democrats in competitive congressional races have benefited from a wave of money that flooded campaigns after Vice President Kamala Harris rose to the top of the party's ticket, with Republicans struggling to stretch their money in the final weeks of the election.
According to new reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Democratic House and Senate candidates weighed in from July through September. They didn't just outpace their Republican opponents — they swamped them.
On average, Democratic candidates raised more than twice as much money as Republican candidates in the third quarter in Senate and House races. Prepare political stories with Amy Walters Rate as competitive. Democrats outspent Republicans in 11 hotly contested Senate races and in all but one of 26 “contested” House races.
In some cases, the difference was even greater. Three Democratic Senate candidates — Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Rep. Elisa Slotkin of Michigan — won more than four times as many votes as their Republican opponents during that period.
The fundraising benefit allowed Democrats to vastly outpace their Republican opponents in key races from July to September. Democratic Senate candidates spent a total of $244 million compared to $91.5 million for Republicans. And House Democratic candidates were classified as “leaning” or “leaning” toward one party, with $132 million compared to $61.6 million for Republicans.
In the Senate race, candidates from both parties ended up virtually tied in cash in September – Democrats had a combined total of $47.5 million remaining in their campaign accounts, while Republicans had $44.8 million. The difference was even greater in competitive House races, with Democrats finishing the quarter with a combined $80.8 million compared to Republicans' $59.2 million.
The Republican Party needs a net gain of just one seat to take control of the Senate if former President Donald Trump occupies the White House (since the vice president casts the tie-breaking vote) or two if Harris is elected. The battle for the House is also hotly contested, as Democrats need a net gain of four seats to gain a majority.
Republican Alarm bells have been sounded about their candidates' fundraising, especially since Harris was named de facto president of the Democrats. And they have tried to combat the Democrats' financial advantage by using a variety of means to stretch their candidates' limited funds.
Both the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee have used so-called hybrid advertising, a strategy that the NRSC has begun to implement more aggressively in the 2022 midterm elections. the candidate, allowing the ad to be purchased at a lower price to the candidate than the price to outside groups only. But publicity material must include specific candidates as well as national themes.
So, although this strategy places limits on the content of these ads, Republicans do not see this as a problem as they work to nationalize this negative election race.
Democrats are also implementing hybrid ads, but Republicans in particular see the strategy as a way to help their candidates combat Democratic attacks. This money can still only go so far, as candidates still have to bear part of the costs of these positions.
Senate Republicans are also using a new strategy to help their candidates counter Democratic messages on the airwaves. They have influence Joint Fundraising Committee, or groups that allow multiple candidates or groups to raise funds through one entity, committees that release advertisements that include a fundraising request.
Democrats sought to block this strategy by asking the FEC to intervene. The panel deadlocked on the issue last week, allowing the practice to continue, raising concerns among Democrats who worry about the late influx of GOP money into the race.
“This will basically increase the amount of money that will go into our elections this cycle, but forever,” Slotkin, the Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, told NBC News in an interview last week. “Basically, it’s disgusting. And Democrats have the advantage of smaller dollar campaign donations. Republicans have more billionaires and millionaires. … So that really reduces our TV advantages.”
But Democrats have indicated they may also use the tactic of launching their own ads.
DSCC spokesman David Bergstein said: “Unlike Republicans, the (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) and Senate Democratic campaigns have sought clear guidance from the FEC on this practice, which the FEC has failed to provide. “Moving forward, the DSCC is committed to ensuring that our campaigns do not operate at a disadvantage in the final weeks of the campaign and will utilize the same tactics used by Republicans in joint committee advertising.”
And while candidates and campaign committees battle it out on the airwaves, super PACs are also pouring millions of dollars into battles in Congress.
The Senate Majority PAC, the main Democratic outside group in Senate races, raised $119 million in the third quarter. Its largest single donation of $5 million came from financial strategist Michelle Chan, while other prominent Democrats, including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, donated to the group.
Its Republican counterpart, the Senate Leadership Fund, has raised $116 million, including contributions from Republican megadonors like Ken Griffin, Paul Singer and Steve Schwartzman.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the main GOP super PAC involved in House races, raised $81.5 million from July through September with contributions from mega-donors Tim Mellon and Miriam Adelson.
Its Democratic counterpart, the House Majority PAC, chooses to file its fundraising report monthly rather than quarterly. The group raised a combined total of $31.6 million in July and August, boosted by funding from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and is expected to report on September by Sunday.
