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Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about their ability to contest a number of races as the money gap between the GOP and the Democrats widens.
Last month, the leader of the largest Super PAC supporting the House Republicans, Dan Conston, the president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, told donors that he needed $35 million more to take on the Democrats, according to Politico.
Similarly, the campaign chair for the Senate Republicans, Steve Daines, said, “The left-wing billionaires are massively outspending us. That’s what’s keeping me up at night” during his speech at the Republican National Convention.
At the end of June, the campaign chair of the House Republicans noted that GOP challengers taking on Democratic incumbents were collectively $37 million behind their opponents.
Things have only gotten worse for the Republicans since Vice President Kamala Harris became the Democratic standard-bearer.
The executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Jason Thielman, told Politico, “We are on a trajectory to win the majority, but unless something changes drastically in the next six weeks, we will lose winnable seats.”
Multiple Republicans who hold seats in districts that Biden won in 2020, including reps Mike Garcia of California, Marc Molinaro of New York and Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, were behind their challengers in cash on hand at the end of June, according to Politico.
In six of the top eight Senate races, Democrats are spending more than Republicans, according to AdImpact, a media tracking company. For instance, Republican Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake is $57 million behind Democratic Rep Ruben Gallego and his allies in spending on the air. Meanwhile, both Sens Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are $41 million ahead of their opponents.
In Ohio, the spending has been about equal between the parties, while Democrats have smaller leads in Montana and Michigan.
However, not every race sees the GOP behind in spending. Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick is spending more than Democratic incumbent Senator Bob Casey, and former Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is also ahead in spending in his senate race against Democrat Angela Alsobrooks.
Ever since former President Donald Trump entered the political scene, Democrats have seen an uptick in small-dollar fundraising. But Republicans think there’s time to fix their growing conundrum. Even if they can’t compete with the Democrats, they may be able to limit their lead.
Fundraising numbers in the next few weeks will decide if Republicans can challenge the Democrats in areas outside of red state senate seats held by Democrats such as in Montana and Ohio. It will also decide how much House Republicans can try to expand their majority while still protecting GOP incumbents in blue areas.
The chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, previously said in a call with members that head-to-head polling between named House candidates was remaining steady but that the Democrats were winning the money game, Politico reported.
Democrats have particularly been far ahead of Republicans in areas with expensive media markets, such as New York and California, where Democratic challengers have seen strong numbers as they take on GOP incumbents.
