Democrats are signaling strength in several competitive Senate races with early first-quarter fundraising figures, a message that can resonate with voters even as control of the chamber remains tightly contested. In AP’s reporting, campaigns in Texas, Georgia, Ohio and other states highlighted sizable early totals as the midterm push accelerates.
The fundraising announcements cover candidates and committees across multiple battleground contests. Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico’s campaign said it raised $27 million in the first three months of the year, while vulnerable incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia said he raised $14 million. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s campaign reported raising $8.8 million, and former Sen. Sherrod Brown reported $10.1 million in his comeback bid in Ohio.
In other races AP described as competitive, Republicans’ reported totals lagged Democrats in several places even where the GOP has been positioned as the favorite. In Texas, incumbent Sen. Jon Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton raised $4.2 million combined, about 15% of Talarico’s reported quarter haul. In Georgia, Derek Dooley and Buddy Carter combined for about $1.1 million, while Mike Collins raised just over $1 million.
AP also reported additional fundraising totals in the remaining battlegrounds described in the first-quarter snapshot. In North Carolina, former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley raised $3.2 million, while Sen. Jon Husted raised $2.9 million in Ohio. In Maine, AP reported that Democrat Collins raised $3.1 million while Gov. Janet Mills raised $2.6 million, and oyster farmer Graham Platner raised $4 million; AP also reported that Mills is the governor preferred by much of the Democratic establishment and that Platner is backed by progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Beyond those state-by-state comparisons, AP reported that the numbers released to the Federal Election Commission Wednesday represent only a limited view of campaign funding because many major campaigns rely on joint fundraising committees and other accounts from which they can spend. AP also said national parties and independent groups plan to spend hundreds of millions during the election cycle, which means the FEC snapshot may not fully reflect the total resources available to each side.
Republicans also framed early cash as no guarantee of victory, pointing to past losses despite strong fundraising quarters. Retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, whose seat is in North Carolina, noted that his 2020 opponent had celebrated successful fundraising quarters but did not win. Democrats have made similar fundraising pushes in earlier cycles without securing victories, AP reported, citing examples of Beto O’Rourke in Texas in 2018 and Jaime Harrison in South Carolina in 2020.
At the national party level, AP said an imbalance could shape how quickly each side expands its message. AP reported that the Republican National Committee reported roughly $109 million cash on hand in its most recent FEC filing, compared with roughly $16 million for Democrats, and that Democrats were carrying about $17 million in debt. AP also said a Trump-tied super political action committee, MAGA Inc., had more than $300 million cash on hand, according to the FEC.
For Democrats, AP said one potential advantage from early totals is timing for advertising. AP reported that the early money can help candidates buy limited advertising slots ahead of the election to get on the air early and make an impression with voters, and it said candidates can receive favorable rates for television ads compared with independent expenditures by outside groups, though that advantage is eroding as ad spending shifts toward digital streaming.
Talarico’s campaign described its fundraising as a foundation for confronting the toughest media markets. In a statement, his campaign manager Seth Krasne said the “grassroots fundraising haul” puts their movement “in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country,” and said “Winning in Texas will require unprecedented resources.”
AP reported that Talarico will face the winner of the GOP runoff on May 26 between Cornyn and Paxton. In the meantime, AP’s reporting on first-quarter fundraising shows Democrats celebrating early strength in several states while Republicans point to a broader reality: in a closely divided Senate map, money is only one part of the path to control.