Democrats poised to outspend GOP in final two weeks of election: report

Democratic campaigns and outside fundraising groups are expected to outspend their Republican counterparts over the final stretch of the midterm campaign as the two sides battle for control of the House, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Strategists from both parties told the news outlets that Democrats are on track to outspend Republicans by a wide margin in the final weeks of campaigning. Democrats are on pace to spend $143 million on television ads in House races, compared to $86 million for Republicans.

The Times reported that the surge in ad buys will erase a spending advantage Republicans were expected to have for much of the campaign.

{mosads}Democrats have been boosted substantially by an infusion of money from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has pledged to spend about $20 million in House campaign ads in the final week, the Times reported.

While the Republican National Committee has held a fundraising advantage over the Democratic National Committee during this cycle, Democratic candidates have fared better at fundraising on an individual basis.

Democratic congressional candidates combined raised more than $1 billion this election cycle through September, compared to $709 million for Republicans.

Meanwhile, more than 70 Democratic House hopefuls outraised Republican incumbents in the third quarter of 2018, according to an analysis by The Hill of fundraising reports.

Democrats are seeking to reclaim the majority in the House and Senate in the Nov. 6 midterms. The party must gain 23 seats to retake the majority in the House, and must gain two seats in the Senate to do the same in the upper chamber.