Big donors are flooding into the race for control of the House, with Democrats overwhelming Republicans in the final stages.
This is an astonishing reversal. Republican super PACs have been dominant in recent cycles and are critical to supporting candidates who have struggled to raise as much money as their Democratic opponents. But now that advantage has disappeared in the House.
The Congressional Leadership Fund, the largest Republican group dedicated to winning the House, announced Tuesday: Raised $81.4 million The quarterly total from July to September was the highest ever. That’s especially impressive considering the Republican Party lost its single biggest fundraiser about a year ago when Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker.
However, the CLF fell short of defeating its Democratic opponents. House Majority PAC revealed Raised approximately $99 million The third quarter was $69 million in September alone.
Both super PACs have raised about $210 million this cycle, a warning sign for Republicans who have relied on their biggest donors to remain competitive across battleground states.
“As the candidate fundraising gap with Democrats continues to widen, HMP defeated its Republican challenger in the third quarter, erasing the Republican super PAC advantage,” said Mike Smith, the group’s chairman. I couldn’t be more proud.” On Election Day, we believe that with record fundraising and a strategic advantage in securing critical TV and digital time at optimal rates, we can take back the House in November. ”
Republicans have long believed there is no need to compete on television with Democrats for money. After succeeding Mr. McCarthy, Chairman mike johnson In an effort to build relationships with donors, Mr. McCarthy retained Dan Conston, the operative who had been selected to lead the CLF.
“We will continue to raise the resources we need and deploy them strategically to make a real impact in this vital majority race,” Conston said in a statement.
Still, external groups are limited in what they can do. Because candidates can buy TV airtime much cheaper than super PACs, outside groups buy advertising much less efficiently than campaigns. Republicans generally rely more on outside groups because candidates often don’t have enough money to pay for their own advertising.
Since 2018, Democratic candidates have primarily raised far more money than their opponents. There have been more than 10 Democratic challengers so far this year Already announced Last quarter, we raised more than $2 million.
For example, Janelle Bynum, a Democrat running against Congress. Lori Chavez Delemer (R-Ore.) reported raising $3.4 million in the third quarter. Democrat running against Congresswoman Laura Guillen. Anthony D’Esposito (RN.Y.) has raised $2.4 million and is being challenged for Congress by Democratic Rep. Derek Tran. Michelle Steele (R-Calif.) raised more than $2 million.
As Republican House candidates consistently lag behind Democrats, CLF has played a key role in bridging the gap.
In the 2020 cycle, both CLF and HMP were relatively close in funding. CLF raised $165 million compared to HMP’s $160 million. But Republicans surged in 2022, and CLF maintained a steady financial lead, raising $260 million over the cycle to Democratic groups’ $182 million.
And that cash will have a big impact on the final election campaign. In 2022, CLF’s financial advantage allowed it to spend $141 million on its own spending in House elections from Oct. 1 to Election Day, compared to HMP was able to spend $121 million. CLF outpaced HMP in 32 of the 47 races in which both drivers competed.
However, this year, the momentum may be reversed. HMP is well-funded and regularly reduces new bookings. The company currently has $52 million more in future TV and radio ad bookings than CLF through the upcoming election date, according to data from AdImpact, which tracks political spending. Of course, both sides can buy additional ads and change the split before November.
