(CNN) Democratic Senate candidates in key battlefield states continue to raise massive amounts of campaign money as the battle for control of the chamber intensifies, according to new campaign funding reports.
New submissions to the Federal Electoral Commission also show that former President Donald Trump’s political operation continues to earn millions of dollars from his army of supporters, but at a slower pace, as he plans a possible third bid for the White House. .
And statewide reports show that energetic donors are driving large sums of money for high-profile governors.
Here are the key points from the new campaign reports:
Democrats full of campaign money
Democrats awash in campaign money
Race after race, Democratic Senate candidates outperform their Republican rivals as they prepare for a difficult fall election season, marked by rising inflation and public dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden’s performance. To see also : Wherever You Can Get Free & Cheap Food on the First Day of Summer.
In Pennsylvania, where the race for an open Republican seat could determine which party controls the Senate, Democratic Gov. Lt. John Fetterman raised nearly $ 11 million during the second quarter, which covered the three months ended. on June 30th. – flooding his Republican rival, the famous heart surgeon Mehmet Oz.
Oz reported receipts of about $ 5.5 million during the quarter, but that included a total of $ 3.2 million he lent to his campaign before and after the May 17 Republican primary. win after a count.
And Fetterman had nearly $ 5.5 million left in the bank on June 30 and the $ 1.1 million, filed Friday afternoon on the FEC program. (Oz’s ability to take advantage of his personal wealth in the coming months could reduce Fetterman’s current cash advantage, however.)
Still, Fetterman, largely sidelined from the campaign while recovering from a stroke in May, has used his funds to advertise heavily on television and subscribe to unorthodox efforts to target his opponent.
In Nevada, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada had a second-quarter revenue of $ 7.5 million compared to Republican rival Adam Laxalt’s nearly $ 2.9 million.
In Colorado, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet began July with a reserve of more than $ 8 million, about 10 times the cash reserves of businessman Joe O’Dea, who emerged victorious from the Republican primary in late June.
And two of the most endangered Democratic senators in this year’s vote, Georgia’s Raphael Warnock and Arizona’s Mark Kelly, each accelerated fundraising rates, contributing $ 17.2 million. and nearly $ 13.6 million, respectively, in the second quarter.
Warnock began July with more than $ 22.2 million in cash reserves, more than three times the amount accumulated by his Republican rival, former NFL star Herschel Walker, according to documents.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, Kelly was sitting at the head of a nearly $ 25 million cash volume on June 30, while Republicans competed to accept him in November at an Aug. 2 primary in the state. of the Grand Canyon.
Surprise surges
Even in states considered less competitive this fall, Democratic Senate candidates emerged from the second quarter with financial advantage. On the same subject : Politics meets Santa Fe Pride rally | Home Affairs | santafenewmexican.com.
In red-leaning Ohio, for example, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan raised $ 9.1 million through the end of June for his Senate bid, more than double the amount he raised in the first three months of the year. It had $ 3.6 million in cash remaining at the end of June.
J.D. Vance, who won the Buckeye State GOP Senate primaries in May, with the help of super PAC spending and Trump’s endorsement, raised a fraction of that amount in the April window in June: about a million dollars.
And the author of “Hillbilly Elegy” ended the quarter with about $ 629,000 left in the bank and even more, nearly $ 883,000, in debt.
“Democratic Senate candidates on the battlefields are breaking fundraising records, and are driven by strong grassroots supporters who are committed to protecting and expanding our majority in the Senate that struggles to address the most pressing priorities of families workers, “Eli Cousin, a spokesman for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, said in a statement.
Also helping drive the increase in donations, agents say: Alarm of voters over the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month that found there was no longer a federal constitutional right to abortion. A draft of the opinion had been leaked in early May.
The day the royal verdict was issued, on June 24, and the next day, marked the two strongest fundraising days of the election cycle for the DSCC, according to Senate campaign arm officials. Democrats.
For their part, Republicans say the fall election will still revolve around pocket issues, such as rising inflation.
“Even if Democrats have all the money in the world, they’re on the wrong side of the issues,” said Jack Pandol, a spokesman for the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
“It sees voters frustrated with high inflation, crime and an uncontrolled border,” he added. “All the money in the world will not change this dynamic.”
And outside Republican groups, such as the SLF and its nonprofit branch One Nation, will spend a lot to get that message across to voters. SLF ended June with more than $ 104 million in cash reserves, a record for the group.
Ad wars
The flood of money in key races has allowed campaigns to air soon and often. To see also : Political Podcast: How the Democrats turned Georgia in 2020.
According to AdImpact data, already, five major races in the U.S. Senate, in Ohio, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin, have received more than $ 350 million in advertising as of mid-July. And hundreds of millions more have been set aside in advertising spending for the critical fall months.
Encouraged by its strong fundraising, Warnock has been especially active, spending more than $ 27 million on advertising this year, with a sustained advertising campaign geared toward GOP Walker opponent fitness for the office, and a mix of sites that promote the incumbent’s work in Congress and his biography.
Republican groups like One Nation have reacted with their own attack announcements, hitting Democrats against inflation and gas prices.
One Nation has spent more than $ 34 million on sites targeting vulnerable Democratic incumbents such as Warnock and Kelly, along with Senator Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire. The group has also been active in Wisconsin in support of Republican Sen. Ron Johnson’s re-election proposal.
DeSantis builds a massive war chest as Trump’s fundraising slows
DeSantis builds massive war chest as Trump fundraising dips
While the political world is focusing on the middle sessions, Trump is weighing in on his own campaign to return to the White House.
Friday’s presentation shows he raised $ 17 million through a joint fundraising committee during the April-June period. That’s a $ 19 million drop the committee raised during the first three months of the year. That comes as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential rival to become the GOP standard in 2024, builds a huge war chest for re-election this fall.
On July 1, CNN reported, the political committee and the DeSantis campaign reported a total of $ 118 million in cash reserves. And that total doesn’t feature more recent infusions, such as a $ 10 million check last week from a wealthy space entrepreneur.
The governor’s political team has already identified ways to turn part of his huge war chest into money that could be spent on a federal campaign, if he decides to run for president, a source with knowledge of these told CNN. conversations.
In a statement Friday night, Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich tried to revoke the idea of weakening financial support for the former president. He said Trump “is continuing to build the most unprecedented political endeavor in the history of American politics.”
“Not only is it raising money at an unparalleled rate,” Budowich added, “but it’s investing in candidates for America First and continuing to grow the MAGA movement until 2022 and beyond.”
Trump’s Save America Joint Fundraising Committee directs money to other parts of Trump’s operation, including the PAC leadership, called Save America, which is the former president’s main political vehicle.
Save America PAC had $ 101 million left in its coffers at the end of May, according to its most recent public presentation. He will report on his fundraising and expenses from June later this month.
State fundraising
New state reports also point to governors ’races full of campaign money.
In traditionally red Texas, Democratic candidate for governor Beto O’Rourke’s campaign announced Friday that he had contributed $ 27.6 million by the end of February to June, a record sum for a state office.
The contribution placed former congressman and presidential candidate ahead of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who reportedly raised $ 24.9 million during the same period.
O’Rourke has announced that he has received more than 500,000 contributions online, as he has made state gun laws a key focus after the May mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
But Abbott, who is seeking a third term, is expected to have a much larger cash fund available to spend.
And in one of the most important gubernatorial contests in the midterm, Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate in Georgia, has secured a substantial lead in fundraising over incumbent GOP Governor Brian Kemp.
CNN’s Steve Contorno contributed to this report.
