In key Senate races, Democrats have fundraising advantage over Republicans
If Democrats take control of the Senate in this year’s election, it won’t have been all about fundraising — but big bucks will have helped.
Democratic candidates have an advantage in total money raised in the 15 Senate races that were rated as competitive by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report as of Wednesday, combining with their affiliate political action committees (PACs) to rake in about $725 million vs. $423 million for Republicans.
Related:Here are the 15 Senate races to watch, as Democrats battle to take control from Republicans
As shown in the chart below, Republicans have out-raised their opponents in just two out of the 15 contests — in a three-way fight in Georgia and in Texas. In that special election in Georgia, two Republican rivals have combined to raise $34.58 million, with Sen. Kelly Loeffler (who is largely self-funding her campaign) getting $28.25 million and Rep. Doug Collins scoring $6.33 million.
To be sure, a lead in the money race doesn’t necessarily turn a candidate into the favorite to win an election.
Democrat Amy McGrath, who is challenging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, has just a 5% chance of winning in FiveThirtyEight’s forecasts, even after her campaign raised $90 million vs. the GOP incumbent’s $51 million.
Related:America’s top CEOs are opening up their wallets for Mitch McConnell’s re-election campaign
Similarly, Democratic Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama is only given a 19% chance of victory, though the incumbent has raked in about $27 million, well above the $8 million brought in by his Republican challenger Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn University football coach.
Republicans currently have 53 seats in the Senate, so Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control of the chamber — or just three if Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump in the White House race, because a Democratic vice president, Kamala Harris, would cast tie-breaking votes.
If Democrats take control of the U.S. Senate, that could lead to laws that shake up key sectors such as tech
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The Democratic Party took control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm election and is widely expected to remain in charge there.
Now read:If the Democrats win the Senate, Big Tech better be ready for a bigger fight
And see:Democrats’ chances of Senate takeover rise, and that could affect health care, energy and financial services
Plus:The prospect of a Democratic sweep is rattling a sleepy U.S. bond market
