CNN —
Faced with a potential loss in the Senate and amid close races in the House, Democrats are running out of money in the final stretch before Election Day, new federal filings show.
The pre-election report, which covers the first 16 days of October, is the last chance until Nov. 5 to find out how much money Congressional campaigns have raised and spent. Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, but Republicans are trying to maintain their slim lead in the House.
In nearly every major election from October 1 to 16, Democratic candidates received more votes than Republican candidates. At this point in the race, neither side has a large overall cash advantage, and each side is spending every resource it can to win.
With no clear leader in the presidential race, the battle in Congress will depend on whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will have first-division support to help implement the new president’s policies, according to the latest CNN poll. This is extremely important in determining whether the
Senate Democrats’ last stand
Democrats may have difficulty maintaining their slim Senate majority. Republicans are almost certain to flip West Virginia’s Senate seat, and Harris will have to win the White House without losing other seats held by Democratic senators or senators who are caucusing. He needs to win the White House.
But Senate Democrats have had a significant financial advantage throughout the cycle. The Democratic candidate for Senate, rated by Inside Elections as competitive with Nathan L. Gonzalez, has thoroughly defeated his Republican opponent, according to a CNN analysis of campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. exceeds the target.
With less than two weeks until Election Day and early voting progressing smoothly, Democratic Senate candidates in the 10 major races, excluding Nebraska, where there is no Democratic candidate, have totaled approximately It cost $76 million and raised funds. About $49 million, according to the latest filing. Republicans spent more than $39 million in 11 races, raising a combined total of about $28 million. These totals do not include Ohio Republican candidate Bernie Moreno, whose filings are not available on the FEC site at the time of publication.
The most vulnerable Democratic incumbents are up for re-election in states that President Trump has twice won easily: Jon Tester in Montana and Sherrod Brown in Ohio.
Brown raised $7.8 million from Oct. 1 to Oct. 16, spent $7.9 million, and entered the final two weeks of the campaign with $4.4 million in the bank. More than $500 million has been spent on the Ohio race through Thursday, the most of any 2024 Senate race. Inside Elections currently rates the Ohio race as the only toss-up on the Senate map.
In Montana, Tester, the last remaining Democrat on a statewide elected official seat, raised more than $9 million in early October and spent more than $12 million for his final dash to Election Day. He had just over $4 million left on hand. His Republican opponent, retired Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, had raised nearly $2.4 million, spent $2.5 million and had the same amount left. Inside Elections rates Montana’s Senate race as leaning Republican.
In the 30 House races that Inside Elections currently rates as either a toss-up or tile to one party, Democratic candidates have collectively outperformed their Republican opponents by $190 million in the period ending October 16. The company has spent $117 million since then.
Three Democratic candidates, Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola, Washington Rep. Marie Grusenkamp Perez, and Virginia challenger Eugene Vindman, spent more than $10 million on their campaigns. Mr. Peltola and Mr. Grusenkamp Perez represent districts that would have supported Mr. Trump in 2020, and Mr. Vindman is running in a district outside Washington, D.C.
The fight for the House majority could be fought in nine battleground seats in deep-blue California and New York, which were key to Republicans gaining control of the House two years ago. In these seats alone, Democrats outspent Republicans, spending between $58 million and $43 million this cycle. In the period leading up to the general election, Democratic candidates for these seats spent an average of $1.7 million to $1.3 million more than their Republican counterparts, but starting Oct. 17, the average Republican had just a sliver of cash on hand. It was advantageous to
Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been spent on legislative fights, and ultra-wealthy donors continue to funnel money to super PACs.
Elon Musk has donated $10 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Musk has already spent nearly $120 million on the presidential campaign through America PAC, a super PAC he helped form to support Trump. The Senate Leadership Fund also received $5 million from hedge fund manager Paul Singer and $2 million from investment banker Warren Stevens.
The fund’s Democratic counterpart, Senate Majority PAC, received $25 million in contributions from Majority Forward, the group’s dark-finance nonprofit arm, which is not required to disclose its donors. do not have.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a top House Republican super PAC, received another $2 million check from billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin in October. Mr. Griffin has not donated to Mr. Trump this term, but he has given $16 million to the foundation so far this term. The group also received $4.5 million from insurance executive Patrick Ryan and his wife, Shirley, and $2 million from Mr. Singer.
On the Democratic side, the House Majority PAC has received $2 million from billionaire businessman and former 2020 presidential candidate Tom Steyer, $1.8 million from philanthropist Marilyn Simmons, and Democratic-aligned funds that are not required to be disclosed. It received a $1.1 million donation from the nonprofit Sixteen Thirty Foundation. Those donors.
In Michigan, the Great Lakes Conservative Fund, which spent more than $20.5 million supporting Republican Mike Rogers in his Senate race, received $1.2 million in donations from the DeVos family, including from President Trump’s former Education Secretary Betsy. – Includes $125,000 from DeVos.
And in Pennsylvania, Keystone Renewal PAC, which spent $48 million supporting Republican candidate Dave McCormick, received an additional $1 million from Pennsylvania-based billionaire Jeff Yass.
