Democrats are poised to take back at least one chamber of Congress after this November's midterm elections according to the latest polls. But Republicans are hoping their significant fundraising advantage can give them a critical edge this fall.
That's according to a Tuesday article by the New York Times' Shane Goldmacher and Theodore Schleifer, who reported that the GOP is going into the midterm race with a cash haul significantly larger than the opposition. According to the Times, President Donald Trump's main super PAC is sitting in more than $304 million, and other well-funded super PACs affiliated with the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence are expected to write big checks to Republicans this cycle.
Goldmacher and Schleifer also found that between Republicans' three main campaign arms, along with the the two GOP super PACs aligned with House and Senate Republicans, the majority party is heading into the midterms "with more than double the cash of the equivalent Democratic groups." GOP groups have a combined $320 million to spend, while Democratic-affiliated super PACs have just $137.2 million between them.
"Any Democrat who isn’t concerned isn’t serious," American Bridge super PAC co-founder Bradley Beychok told the Times. "Yes, Democrats have momentum on our side and a wide opportunity map, but we have a glaring disadvantage in overall money."
The Times additionally reported that despite his previous falling out with Trump and brief flirtations with starting a third party, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has donated "tens of millions of dollars" to Republicans in recent months. Musk also made an appearance at Mar-a-Lago to attend the wedding of a Trump staffer. All told, Republicans have more than $550 million to enter the 2026 cycle when counting Trump's super PAC and a smattering of other federal campaign accounts.
"Donald Trump has 99 problems going into the midterms," Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson said. "But money ain't one."
A money advantage doesn't necessary guarantee electoral success. In 2024, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris raised a whopping $2 billion while Trump and the Republican National Committee brought in just $1.2 billion. Harris still ended up losing all seven swing states, in addition to the national popular vote.
And despite the disparity in party fundraising, individual Democratic candidates have been vastly out-raising their Republican opponents in a few marquee races. The Times reported that in the Alaska, Georgia, North Carolina and Ohio Senate races, Democrats Mary Peltola, Jon Ossoff, Roy Cooper and Sherrod Brown, respectively, are "running fund-raising laps around Republicans, driven mostly by liberal enthusiasm and small online donations," per the Times.