Senate GOP campaign arm outraises Democratic counterpart in September

The GOP’s Senate campaign arm outpaced its Democratic counterpart in fundraising in September and has more than twice as much money in the bank heading into the final stretch of 2021, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) reported raising about $9.5 million last month, nearly $1.5 million more than the roughly $8 million brought in by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for the same time frame.

That leaves the NRSC with nearly $27.8 million in cash on hand, the group’s FEC filings show. The DSCC has just under $13.4 million in the bank. 

That gives Senate Republicans a critical cash advantage little more than a year out from the 2022 midterm elections, when Democrats will be fighting to preserve their razor-thin congressional majorities. 

With the Senate split 50-50 between the two parties, a net loss of even one seat for Democrats would mean ceding their control of the upper chamber. Still, they have more offensive opportunities than Republicans, who are defending 20 seats, including five in which the current occupant is retiring.

But Democrats also face historical headwinds. The party of a new president tends to lose ground in Congress in midterm elections, and President Biden has seen his approval ratings plummet in recent months. At the same time, progress on Democratic leaders’ key policy priorities has been held up amid disagreements between progressives and moderates on the size and scope of the legislation. 

Still, there’s at least one bright spot for Democrats in the money race. Several of the party’s Senate candidates topped the list of fundraisers in the third quarter of the year. For instance, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), who’s challenging Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), pulled in a staggering $8.5 million between July and October, outdoing her GOP rival by about $2.4 million.