Democrats take an early lead in race to raise campaign cash for House seats

FAN Editor

The midterm elections are still months away, but big money donors are already flooding battleground House races with campaign contributions. So far, Democrats have picked up an early fundraising edge.

Based on a CNBC analysis of the latest campaign finance filings in 46 battleground districts, Democrats are pulling in more cash overall than their GOP rivals in those key races, reversing a trend that favored the GOP for the last four full House election cycles. Total contributions to Democrats in those districts to date stand at about $120 million or more than twice what Democrats raised in each of the last four cycles. GOP candidates have raised just under $100 million in those districts.

Democrats need a net gain of 24 seats to take control of the House in November, and fewer than 50 of the 435 districts are considered tossups by political pundits tracking the race. So far, they’ve outraised their GOP rivals in overall contributions in a little more than half of those races.

This midterm election is expected to set new overall records for campaign contributions, in part because of the recent rise in the amounts of “soft money” spending through political organization called SuperPacs that allow unlimited contributions.

These SuperPACs have already begun raising sizable war chests for both parties. Much of this so-called “outside” spending is used to pay for TV and digital advertising, the bulk of which doesn’t begin until closer to the election, after the primary season is over. (The CNBC analysis of battleground districts includes only direct contributions to individual candidates.)

Some of the outsize funding flowing to Democrats is the result of crowded primary fields in districts where multiple candidates are vying for the party’s nomination. The Democratic Party this year has made a concerted effort to field candidates in districts that they’ve left unopposed in past cycles.

The biggest cash advantage for Democrats is coming in three districts that have yet to hold primaries: Florida’s 27th district, Wisconsin’s 1st, and Arizona’s 2nd. Those states hold their primaries in August.

Two special elections that drew major cash infusions from around the country also added to Democrats’ fundraising edge. Pennsylvania Democrat Conor Lamb raised more than $7 million in his successful bid in Pennsylvania in March to fill the seat vacated by Republican Tim Murphy. And Montana Republican Greg Gianforte raised nearly that much in his successful run in a special election last year to fill the seat vacated by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Altogether, that race generated some $13.5 million in contributions, about evenly split between the parties, and far more than most congressional races.

Here are the amounts raised in each of the 46 races, as of June 30.

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