Republicans view candidate campaign funds as vital in bridging fundraising gaps

National Republicans are leaning on the fundraising prowess, and personal wealth, of their candidates in 2024 battleground states as the party grapples with a fundraising shortfall against Democrats.

Republicans have historically lagged Democrats in fundraising, and, with some exceptions, this cycle will be no different. The fundraising arms of national Democrats came into 2024 with more in the bank than their Republican counterparts for both the House and Senate.

The same can be said of former President Donald Trump, whose legal troubles have made catching up to his 2024 rival, President Joe Biden, even more difficult.

The fundraising gap presents a challenge for Republicans as they seek to maintain a razor-thin House majority. Meanwhile, they have a favorable Senate map but will need to contend with the tens of millions in ads Democrats have already booked in states that will decide control of the chamber.

Yet the party sees a weapon that will help make up that shortfall in what could be a record-breaking year for campaign spending. Republicans plan to rely on the war chests of the candidates themselves.

“We’re never going to have as much money as the Democrats, but we need to have enough to get our message out,” said Mike Berg, the communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the main fundraising arm for Senate Republicans. “One of our top priorities this cycle has been narrowing the Democrats’ fundraising advantage. That is why we put an emphasis on recruiting candidates who are strong fundraisers and/or have been successful enough in the business world to make a personal investment in their campaign.”

The NRSC has outraised its Democratic counterpart every month since April 2023. It raised about $102 million from the beginning of last year through March 2024, in comparison to the $93 million raised by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to campaign finance records. But Republicans continue to finish each month with less cash on hand, in part due to the $61 million in debt it finished paying off in the fall.

As of the end of February, the DSCC had $32 million in cash on hand, and the NRSC had about $25 million.

The gap is more stark for House Republicans. The National Republican Congressional Committee raised $108.5 million from the beginning of 2023 through March 2024. For comparison, its Democratic counterpart raised $145.3 million over the same time period.

The silver linings for Senate Republicans are the deep-pocketed candidates they successfully recruited for 2024. In Wisconsin, bank CEO Eric Hovde is willing to spend millions, perhaps tens of millions, of his own money. The NRSC landed wealthy candidates across the Senate map, from Montana to Pennsylvania to Ohio.

The House Republican campaign arm, meanwhile, emphasized the fundraising strength of its candidates. There are 24 GOP lawmakers considered to be the most vulnerable, known as the “NRCC Patriots,” with each raising an average of $2.7 million in 2023, according to data from the NRCC. That leaves those members with an average of $1.8 million in cash on hand.

The organization compared those numbers to House Democrats’ list of front-line candidates, who raised an average of $1.9 million per member in 2023, with an average of $1.4 million available heading into the new year.

“House Republicans will have the resources needed to grow the majority,” NRCC press secretary Will Reinert said.

Republicans will no doubt face formidable fundraising from Democratic candidates, too. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), running for a fourth term in Ohio, has raised close to $34 million, a number that includes the $12 million he reported in the first three months of 2024. Rep. Ruben Gallego (R-AZ), the likely Democratic Senate nominee in Arizona, has brought in about $20 million this cycle, of which $7.5 million came in the first quarter of 2024.

The five most vulnerable Senate Democratic incumbents raised an average of $17.4 million this cycle so far, leaving those members with an average of $10.5 million in cash on hand.

“Battle-tested Senate Democrats continue laying the groundwork for victory in 2024 and their record-breaking fundraising is a testament to the support they are earning from voters and grassroots supporters,” DSCC spokesman Tommy Garcia said. “Republicans’ Senate candidates have enough baggage to fill a bank vault. Their financial vulnerabilities, coupled with their numerous other flaws and disqualifying policy positions, will lead their campaigns to defeat.”

Even with the advantage for Senate Democrats in terms of campaign cash, the map to defend their slim 51-49 majority ultimately favors Republicans, with pick-up opportunities in red states such as Ohio and Montana as well as toss-up races in Nevada and beyond. Republicans only have to flip one or two seats to win back the majority.

“Look, I’d rather be us with the map the way it looks, but the fundraising isn’t great,” said a Republican operative involved with Senate campaigns who requested anonymity to speak candidly. “Republicans almost always are fundraising behind Democrats, that’s not new — but this is a particularly important cycle for us, so all of us hope the situation improves.”

Over on the House side, Republicans hold a more narrow advantage. There are 210 seats that are considered to lean Republican in the 2024 election, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, giving the party a strong starting point. It will need 218 to retain its majority in November.

Meanwhile, Democrats have a more challenging path, as there are only 203 seats considered to favor their candidates.

If Republicans win all of their favored seats, they would only need to win eight of the 22 toss-up races to secure the majority. Democrats, by contrast, would need to win about double that plus their favored seats.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has managed to exceed expectations for his fundraising abilities since taking the gavel. However, it’s still below the hauls brought in by his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, according to data compiled by the Federal Election Center.

On average, McCarthy raised $2.7 million per quarter for members on the NRCC Patriots list in 2023. Johnson, who assumed the gavel last October, managed to raise an average of $541,696 for those same members in his first quarter as speaker.

Spokespeople for Johnson have pushed back on suggestions that he has not kept pace with fundraising expectations, pointing to his travels to Florida, Arkansas, Arizona, and California over the last week alone to help vulnerable members.

Johnson has also utilized his Grow the Majority fundraising PAC to help support more than 70 incumbents, challengers, and state parties.

“Speaker Johnson is traveling across the country and working nonstop to ensure House Republicans will have the resources needed to grow the majority,” Greg Steele, a spokesman for Johnson’s political team, told the Washington Examiner.

The outside group linked to Johnson is also a bright spot for House Republicans. The Congressional Leadership Fund and its affiliated American Action Network raised $112 million in 2023, according to Punchbowl News, compared to $76 million for the main Democratic outside groups, House Majority PAC and House Majority Forward.

The fundraising battle for the main Senate outside groups appears to favor Democrats, though the lack of numbers on both of their affiliated groups makes an apples-to-apples comparison difficult.

Senate Majority PAC, the independent group associated with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), raised a total of $83.5 million in 2023, according to campaign finance reports. The Senate Leadership Fund, linked to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), raised $29 million over that span.

A fundraising mismatch could have major implications in terms of Senate ad spending, though with so few states truly in play for 2024 — most resources will be directed to Ohio and Montana — Republicans, like Democrats, will be able to saturate the market with commercials in the lead-up to November.

Last month, SMP announced it had reserved $239 million in television advertising in seven states starting over the summer. The group plans to spend $65 million in Ohio, $42 million in Pennsylvania, $14 million in Wisconsin, $14 million in Michigan, and $23 million in Arizona.

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SMP had already unveiled plans to spend $45 million in Montana and $36 million in Nevada.

SLF, for its part, plans to spend $57.5 million on advertising in Ohio and $24.6 million in Montana starting in early September. Those numbers are subject to change as Election Day approaches.