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Party leaders, encouraged by recent victories in special
elections in Pennsylvania and Alabama, hope it will be enough to
help them flip 24 seats needed in November to wrestle control of
the chamber from Republicans.
The fundraising gap could reflect opposition to President Donald
Trump and growing enthusiasm among rank-and-file Democrats
toward the mid-term elections. The added cash will help
Democrats pour more money into advertising and voter outreach
efforts.
Still, the analysis of federal campaign finance disclosures also
shows that the average Republican candidate has raised more
funds than the average Democrat. Because most of the seats are
either open or already held by a Republican, the funds raised by
Democrats are spread among more candidates vying for their
party's nomination. In the races covered by the analysis, there
are 127 Democrats and 65 Republicans.
Republicans are hopeful the primary season will force Democrats
to spend their advantage.
“It’s exciting to watch Democratic candidates spend what money
they do have tearing each other apart in primaries over issues
like single-payer health care and abolishing ICE," said Jesse
Hunt, a spokesman for National Republican Campaign Committee
(NRCC), which helps candidates in their party getting elected to
the House.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), on the
other hand, does not see a risk in the primary season.
“Democratic candidates are out-working and out-organizing
vulnerable Republican incumbents across the largest House
battlefield in over a decade. The reality is that a lot of
Republican incumbents haven’t faced a competitive challenge in a
very long time and have proven unable to locate those old
campaign muscles," said DCCC spokesman Tyler Law.
A handful of candidates failed to file campaign disclosures,
which were due to the Federal Elections Commission by midnight
on Monday morning. And additional candidates could still enter
the race in a handful of states.
All 435 members of the U.S. House will stand for re-election in
November. Recent polls have found conflicting evidence of
whether voters are gearing up to produce a wave that would favor
Democrats. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found older, white voters
abandoning the Republican Party. And a Washington Post/ABC News
poll released Monday found the gap among all voters between
Republicans and Democrats narrowing.
By the end of March, Democrats in the most competitive races
brought in $44.7 million and had $40.5 million in cash left
over. Republicans from the same districts reported raising $34.2
million with $27.9 million in cash.
The fundraising amounted to $351,740 per Democrat and $525,506
per Republican. Historically, some donors will opt to withhold
donations until after the primary, meaning there could be more
pent-up cash that Democrats could access later in the year.
The totals represent 25 of the most competitive congressional
races across the country, including 23 currently held by
Republicans, according to a Reuters review of the ratings of
three independent political analysis groups: Cook Political
Report, Inside Elections and the University of Virginia’s Center
for Politics.
Dozens of factors can lead to making a race more or less
competitive, including polling, fundraising and the strength of
an opponent.
(Reporting by Ginger Gibson in Washington and Grant Smith in New
York; Additional reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by David
Gregorio and Lisa Shumaker)
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