Topline
Democrats furthered their lead over Republicans in August as the two parties have been neck and neck in fundraising to control the House and Senate, recent federal filings show—with individual Democratic Senate candidates having an even more commanding lead.
The U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 21, 2018.
Key Facts
The two main national committees raising money to elect Democrats to the House and Senate outraised the two main Republican committees as of August 31, the latest date for which filings are available—raising $423.9 million in total this election cycle to Republicans’ $383.6 million and widening their lead from July, when Democrats had only outraised the GOP by $27.7 million.
That’s largely because of Democrats’ advantage in fundraising for House races—where the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has outraised its GOP counterpart by $67.5 million—while the National Republican Senatorial Committee has raised around $27 million more than the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
The main super PACs focused on electing Democrats to Congress, House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC, have also raised more than their GOP counterparts, with a combined $309.6 million fundraising haul versus $254.9 million raised by the GOP’s Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund (the totals include money raised by House Majority PAC through August 31 and the other PACs through June 30, due to different reporting timelines).
Democrats outraised Republicans’ Senate and House super PACs, but since the Democratic House PAC has an extra two months of reported funds, it’s possible the GOP’s corresponding PAC could have closed the $11.5 million gap between them.
Democrats’ official committees—which can give directly to candidates and coordinate with their campaigns, unlike super PACs—reported having more cash on hand than Republicans, ending August with $134.2 million in cash while Republicans had $114.4 million.
Republican super PACs had more cash than Democrats as of the end of June—reporting $227.9 million to Democrats’ $212.8 million—but the House Democratic PAC has added $21 million to its cash pile since then, so while it’s unclear how much Republicans raised during that time, Democrats may have been able to make up or narrow the gap.
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Big Number
$733.4 million. That’s how much Democrats have reported raising in total through the end of August between their two major national committees and two super PACs, beating out Republicans’ overall fundraising total of $638.5 million.
What We Don’t Know
How these totals have changed since they were last reported. The national party committees won’t report how much they raise in September until October 20, so it’s unclear how much cash both sides have gotten over the past month and where things stand now. The figures also don’t yet include the Harris campaign’s donations to the committees, as the presidential campaign announced in September it was donating $10 million each to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, along with other down-ballot groups.
Major Senate Races Show A Wider Gap
While Democrats are more evenly matched with Republicans at the national level, the party has a greater fundraising advantage for Senate candidates facing close elections, as Democrats try to keep control of the chamber. FEC filings show the Democratic candidates in the top eight most competitive Senate races this cycle—in Montana, Ohio, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Maryland—have outraised their Republican opponents, based on their official campaign committees. The three races rated “toss-ups” by the Cook Political Report have particularly high fundraising gaps: Montana Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester has raised more than twice as much as GOP challenger Tim Sheehy ($39.3 million to $14 million), while Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown has raised nearly three times the amount of his Republican opponent Bernie Moreno ($46 million to $15.8 million). In Michigan, Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s Senate run has attracted $24 million in donations—almost five times the $5.4 million her opponent Mike Rogers has raised. The only Republican candidate to raise more money than their Democratic opponent in a seat that’s not considered a safe bet is Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who has raised $20.2 million, while his rival Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell has garnered $14.4 million in support. The congressional candidates only have reported figures through June or July, however, so it’s unclear how the fundraising races may have changed since then.
How Much Have The National Parties Raised?
The Democratic National Committee—which boosts Democratic candidates nationwide, not just at the congressional level—has also outraised the Republican National Committee, receiving $385.5 million through the end of August versus $331.1 million raised by the RNC. Democrats also spent more of their cash, however, so the RNC ended August with a cash advantage, holding $79.3 million in cash on hand as compared with $50 million for the DNC.
How Does The Presidential Race Compare?
The amount that Democrats and Republicans are taking in for all congressional candidates across the country are roughly comparable to the nine-figure sums being raised just by Harris and former President Donald Trump. The Harris campaign said in September its campaign committee and other affiliated groups have raised $618 million just since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July, after the campaign reported raising $678.2 million on its own as of the end of August. (That includes the amount raised by the Biden campaign before he dropped out, as the campaign committee was then renamed for Harris and she received all the funds.) The Trump campaign has only raised $309.2 million as of the end of July—and Harris also has Trump beaten when it comes to their cash piles as well, ending July with $235.5 million in cash on hand versus Trump’s $134.6 million.
Key Background
Democrats and Republicans are in a tight battle for control of Congress this election cycle, as Republicans hold only a nine-seat majority in the House and Democrats narrowly have control of a divided Senate. FiveThirtyEight’s polling average shows Americans are divided on which party they want to have control of Congress, with 46.7% on average favoring Democrats as of Monday while 44.5% prefer the GOP. Democrats face an unfavorable Senate map in November, as vulnerable Democrats Tester and Brown fight to hold their seats in conservative-leaning Montana and Ohio. The left’s only hope of picking up any seats is in Florida and Texas, where Scott and Sen. Ted Cruz face strong Democratic challengers but are still widely favored to win.
