As they look to expand the Right’s footprint in the House and Senate, top Republicans are panicked that the Democratic Party‘s financial edge could cost them critical victories on Election Day.
Jason Thielman, the executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, worried that Democrats are massively outraising the GOP in new comments to Politico.
“The only thing preventing us from having a great night in November is the massive financial disparity our party currently faces,” Thielman warned. The NRSC is the Senate GOP’s campaign arm that raises financial support for Republicans campaigning across the country.
“We are on a trajectory to win the majority, but unless something changes drastically in the next six weeks, we will lose winnable seats,” he continued.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), who heads the NRSC, announced in June that the organization had raised record funds for Republican candidates.
But the next month, he worried that Democrats were “massively outspending” the GOP in senate races critical to the party’s mission to reclaim the majority in the upper chamber.
“We must elect an America-first Senate majority that will stand with President Donald J. Trump,” Daines declared during a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention. “But look, right now, the left-wing billionaires are massively outspending us. That’s what’s keeping me up at night.”
Republicans hold a four-seat advantage in the lower chamber while Democrats hold a two-seat majority in the upper chamber.
Republican lawmakers such as Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) are among the vulnerable members threatened by the Left’s financial onslaught.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Democrats’ primary super PAC have worked together to pour nearly $3.3 million into ads targeting the vulnerable Republican in his Pennsylvania district, according to data from AdImpact.
Meanwhile, the House GOP-affiliated nonprofit organization American Action Network has spent just over $500,000 on Perry’s close race against Democrat Janelle Stelson.
Republicans in the upper chamber are not faring any better. Data from AdImpact indicate that Democrats are outspending their Republican counterparts in three-quarters of the top Senate races that will likely determine which party holds the majority next Congress.
Although the GOP is focused on flipping Senate seats in states such as Montana and Nevada, party leaders’ support for Republican Kari Lake’s bid against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) appears to be tepid. Lake has garnered the least Republican-affiliated financial support for future television ad reservations of any of the eight Senate races considered competitive across the country.
While the GOP has reserved $96 million for Dave McCormick’s effort to unseat Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA), it has allotted Lake only $12 million for future ad buys, according to the Arizona Republic.
“Now Arizona’s firmly back in play at the presidential level and Gallego, with his money advantage, has been able to lay down his reservations early on,” Jessica Taylor, who works with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, told the outlet. “We’ve seen Democratic groups lay down their reservations early on. The earlier you buy these ads, the cheaper they are. For Lake, she has not been able to do that.”
There are still bright spots for Republicans across the country. In states such as Pennsylvania and Maryland, McCormick and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan are outraising their Democratic opponents by nearly $30 million and $9 million, respectively.
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House Republicans, on the other hand, are optimistic about their chances ahead of November even as NRSC leadership paints a dire picture.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) recently told the Washington Examiner he believed Republicans could gain “anywhere from a similar small majority to a 15-seat-ish majority” on Election Day. In July, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who led his party in raising $23.5 million in the second quarter of 2024, said he hoped to pick up 10 seats in the lower chamber.
