Democrats Flush With Cash, One Candidate Has 17 Times as Much as GOP Rival

Democrats appear to be flush with cash with less than two months until crucial midterm elections while Republican candidates show signs of struggling to raise funds.

There have been concerns about Republican fundraising for some time, particularly when it comes to GOP candidates for the U.S. Senate, and recent reports suggest a significant gap.

Two state-level races in Michigan provide stark examples of the difficulties Republicans seem to be facing. In the race for secretary of state, the Democratic candidate has 17 times as much cash on hand as her Republican opponent.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson had $3.3 million cash on hand as of September 10 based on reports that were due to be filed on Monday, while her GOP rival Kristina Karamo reported having just $184,734 cash on hand as of September 16.

It was a similar picture in the race for Michigan attorney general, where incumbent Attorney General Dana Nessel reported $2.4 million as of September 10—more than 10 times her Republican opponent's reported $237,820 as of September 16.

The apparent problem for Republicans is not confined to Michigan, however.

The New York Times reported on September 24 that GOP candidates in competitive U.S. Senate races have been working to raise funds through events in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere.

Last Wednesday, Arizona Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters reportedly spoke in a conference room near the U.S. Capitol alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, while Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz is due to attend fundraising events in Washington on Tuesday.

Senator Mark Kelly is in a tight race with Masters but has significantly outraised him, bringing in $54 million to Masters' $4.9 million.

Incumbents often enjoy a major fundraising advantage over challengers, as well as name recognition and a high profile that can also help them to raise more funds. In the 2022 election cycle, incumbent candidates in Senate races have raised an average of almost $18.9 million compared to around $1.1 million for their challengers, according to research group OpenSecrets.

But the Democrats' fund-raising advantage also extends to an open Senate race such as in Pennsylvania, where Oz has placed behind Democratic Lt. Governor John Fetterman in a slew of polls.

Oz had raised about $18.9 million by June 30—much of it reportedly his own money— while Fetterman had raised around $26 million.

GOP Senate candidates Adam Laxalt of Nevada and J.D. Vance of Ohio have also attended fundraising events outside their states, taking them away from the campaign trail as they compete in what are expected to be close races with their Democratic opponents.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is seeking re-election in Nevada while Representative Tim Ryan is competing for the open Senate seat in Ohio occasioned by the retirement of Republican Senator Robert Portman.

Cortez Masto has raised more than $29 million to Laxalt's fundraising of over $7 million, while Ryan has raised more than $21 million and Vance over $3 million, according a report on September 9.

McConnell has previously called into question the "quality" of some GOP Senate candidates but he is reportedly working to raise funds for them, including hosting an event for Vance and Masters alongside Senator John Thune, his number two in the GOP Senate leadership.

Fundraising momentum appears to have moved toward Democrats, according to analysis from Politico published on September 8.

That analysis found that contributions to federal committees and candidates through WinRed—the GOP's preferred online fundraising platform—stood at around 913,000 unique donors from January to June this year, while unique donors giving through ActBlue, the Democratic alternative to WinRed, were around 2.5 million.

In the previous six-month period, around two million unique donors had been donated through ActBlue and around 956,000 through WinRed.

The drop in online donations to the GOP could be due in part to inflation, as well as previous donors not contributing again and the party's failure to recruit new donors to replace them.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) told Newsweek on Tuesday that it had raised $17.2 million in August and $273.6 million for the calendar year to date.

"The Republican National Committee is not only outworking, but outraising our Democrat counterparts. More importantly, we are making strategic investments to elect Republicans up-and-down the ballot who will bring down inflation, tackle rising crime, secure our border, and get our country back on track," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.

The midterm elections remain highly competitive with poll tracker FiveThirtyEight rating Democrats slightly favored to win the Senate but Republicans favored to win the House of Representatives.

Newsweek has asked the Democratic National Committee for comment.

Correction 09/30/22 09.30a.m. E.T.: This article was corrected to note that Politico's figures for WinRed and ActBlue donations indicate unique donors, not dollar amounts as previously stated.