Two of the most vulnerable Democratic senators on the ballot this year – Georgia’s Raphael Warnock and Arizona’s Mark Kelly – have amassed some of the campaign’s biggest war chests. Warnock raised nearly $ 13.6 million in the January-March fundraising period – which his campaign highlighted as a new high for a Senate candidate in the first quarter of an election year. The Georgia senator, who is running for a full six-year term this fall after winning a special election last year, entered April with nearly $ 25.6 million in his campaign bill. That was more than three times the amount owed by Herschel Walker, who is considered the first candidate for the anointing of the Republicans. Former President Donald Trump has encouraged Walker to take part in the race, and the former football star has also consolidated support from the Republican Party incumbent, often in opposition to the former president. In Arizona, Kelly said it raised $ 11.4 million in the first quarter and had $ 23.3 million in cash on March 31 – far beyond the scope of Republicans vying to challenge him. Two other vulnerable Democratic senators – Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire – also outscored their top Republican challengers this quarter and closed March with higher cash reserves.
Democratic challengers raise large sums
Even in less competitive struggles in the Senate, Democratic challengers raise large sums. In Florida, donors continue to flood U.S. Democrat Val Demings’s campaign with money to challenge Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, whose ruling independent political bloc is likely to remain in the GOP column. Demings raised $ 10 million in the first quarter, while Rubio raised nearly $ 5.8 million in the same period. Everyone had about $ 13 million in the bank at the end of the quarter. Demings, whose national profile soared when she served as House manager in Trump’s first referral, received about half of her contributions from people with small dollar increases. Contributions from small dollar donors accounted for just over a third of Rubio’s quarterly coverage. And in North Carolina, where Democrats are seeking an open GOP seat in a state that has twice backed Trump, Democrat Cheri Beasley outscored top Republican candidates in the first quarter. The former state Supreme Court justice took in more than $ 3.6 million and closed in March with $ 5.1 million in unallocated cash. Trump’s support for U.S. lawmaker Ted Bundt has so far cleared the way for Republicans to succeed retired Sen. Richard Burr, with former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCroy remaining in the race. Budd and McCrory raised about $ 1.1 million each and closed the quarter with about $ 2 million in cash each. Recent political history has shown that the economic power of fire alone does not win fights. In the credible red South Carolina, for example, Democratic Senate nominee Jaime Harrison has repeatedly broken the fundraising record in the 2020 election, only to lose by a double-digit percentage to incumbent GOP Lindsey Graham.
Self-funded seek advantage in busy GOP primaries
In Pennsylvania – where the controversy over an open Senate seat has fueled huge spending on airwaves – Republican candidates have opened their own wallets, seeking a lead in the run-up to the by-elections. David McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, lent his campaign nearly $ 7 million in the first quarter – more than any other candidate. One of his main rivals in the Republican primary, former television personality Mehmet Oz, paid nearly $ 6 million in his campaign over the same period, according to records. Trump recently endorsed Oz – bypassing McCormick, who had hired several former Trump aides and flirted with the former president’s support. Deep-pocket Republicans in other states are also betting on their candidacies. In Ohio, for example, millionaire investment banker Mike Gibbons lent his $ 5 million campaign in the first quarter. On Friday, Trump backed a Gibbons rival, venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy” JD Vance, in the run-up to the GOP primaries to replace outgoing Republican Sen. Rob Portman. Vance lent his $ 600,000 campaign in late March, according to his FEC report.
Incumbent leaders face off in West Virginia
In a bitter Republican primary in the new West Virginia Congressional District 2, U.S. Rep. David McKinley raised more than $ 481,000 in the first quarter – beating U.S. Rep. Alex Mulloin Trump, who raised $ 465,000. But Mooney started in April with more cash from the campaign, $ 1.4 million versus McKinley’s $ 1 million. The May 10 by-elections are the first elections this year to bring two incumbent lawmakers face to face, after re-drawing the boundaries of Congress every decade. West Virginia lost one of its seats after the 2020 census. During the first quarter, McKinley received approvals and donations from Republican Gov. Jim Justice, who and his wife, Cathy, contributed $ 5,800. Billionaire GOP donor Ken Langone and his wife, Elaine, donated a total of $ 11,600 to McKinley’s re-election, according to filing. The conservative power center Club for Growth and the House Freedom Fund made donations to Mooney’s campaign in the first quarter.
Cheney beats Hageman again
Wyoming Republican Harriet Hagemann, a lawyer and activist seeking to oust U.S. lawmaker Liz Cheney in the August primary, saw her fundraiser soar to $ 1.3 million in three months. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and dozens of other Republicans in the House of Representatives rallied for the challenger in March. Trump, who called for Cheney’s ousting after voting to oust him last year, backed Hagerman. But Cheney, one of the most prominent critics of the Republican Party, set a new personal record during the first quarter, raising nearly $ 2.9 million. The third lawmaker had saved $ 6.8 million in cash at Hageman’s $ 1 million since March 31, records show. In another contest that brings the Republican wing of the Republican Party against an established Republican establishment, Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski went on to beat her Trump-backed protagonist, Kelly. Murkowski, who is seeking a fourth full term, raised nearly $ 1.6 million to Tshibaka’s approximately $ 670,000 in the first quarter. The incumbent president had more than $ 5.2 million in cash in her hands compared to about $ 968,000 for her challenge. The Alaska GOP qualifiers are also in August.
GOP billionaires make big bets on races in Congress
The Super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited sums to shape the election results, are preparing to help Republican candidates overcome any fundraising shortfalls ahead of the November general election. The Senate Leadership Fund, the main Republican super PAC focused on the Senate campaign, raised $ 27 million in the first quarter. Among its sponsors: Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone Private Equity Giants, who contributed $ 10 million. Citadel hedge fund chief Ken Griffin, who donated $ 5 million. and Fox President Rupert Murdoch with $ 2 million. Schwarzman also contributed $ 10 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which focuses on the GOP in Parliament. Griffin donated $ 7.5 million to the GOP House super PAC and sent $ 2.5 million to Honor Pennsylvania – a super PAC working to support McCormick in Keystone State, Friday filings show. The basic super PACs for Democrats and Republicans are submitting their public reports on different timetables, but recent deposits show that Republicans will have big cash benefits. The Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund reported a total of $ 165.7 million in cash at the end of March. The House Majority PAC and the Senate Majority PAC, their Democratic counterparts, reported a total of $ 82.4 million available at the end of February.
