Republicans have a fundraising advantage in the battle for control of the US Congress
Republican lawmakers will of course end the year with more cash than their Democratic counterparts, underscoring the battle Joe Biden’s party faces to keep control of Congress in the midterm elections. period next year.
Federal Election Commission filings this weekend showed the National Republican Senate Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the upper chamber of Congress, had nearly $30 million in cash. at the end of October — almost double the $15.9 million that the Democratic Senate Advocacy Committee had in the bank.
The Republican National Congressional Committee, which focuses on electing Republicans to the House, had roughly the same amount — $68 million — in cash at the end of last month, than its Democratic counterpart. Democratic Congressional Advocacy Committee.
The president’s party holds the House and Senate by razor-thin majority. Democratic leaders in recent months have worried about their prospects at the ballot box as Biden’s approval ratings continue to fall, and following voter backlash in state elections and local earlier this month. Republican Glenn Youngkin won the race for governor in Virginia, a state in which Biden won by more than 10 points last year.
This week’s nonpartisan Cook Politics report changed the ratings for three key Senate races – in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada – from “Democrat leaning” to “subversive”, highlighting the challenges facing incumbent Democratic lawmakers as they bid for re-election next fall.
The FEC disclosures also underscore the ability of Republicans to reverse their fundraising fortunes after the start of the new year was hit by the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Crowds of former President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol and disrupted the Electoral College’s confirmation of victory in Biden in a riot that left at least five people dead.
In response, dozens of America’s largest businesses said they would remove or suspend donations from their political action committees to Republicans opposed to the certification of election results. raised concerns within the GOP ranks about how the party will compete for money raised.
But the latest records demonstrate how, after reserve employee contributions In recent months, corporate America has largely continued to empower GOP committees and candidates, bolstering Republican coffers as next year’s midterms close. The NRSC is run by Rick Scott, a Republican senator from Florida who was one of eight GOP senators who opposed the certification.
A Financial Times analysis of 64 corporate political action committees and business lobbying groups that issued statements about re-evaluating their donation policies after January 6 found 10 Big business gave $212,500 to Republican congressional committees in the three months to the end of October. Eight PAC companies gave $157,500 to Democratic congressional committees over a three-month period.
Thirty-eight corporate political fundraising arms gave $386,500 to GOP leaders on Capitol Hill, either directly or through affiliated committees, over the same time period.
The FT’s analysis shows that at least 22 companies have donated up to all four national committees – NRSC, NRCC, DSCC and DCCC – since the start of the calendar year. Those companies include: Google parent Alphabet, Altria, American Airlines, AT&T, Boeing, Comcast, CVS Health, Delta, Eli Lilly, FedEx, Ford, Genentech, Lockheed Martin, Pfizer, PG&E, PwC, Raytheon, T-Mobile , United Airlines, UnitedHealth Group, Walmart and Wells Fargo.
Federal election law limits the amount PACs can give to national committees each year to $15,000. PACs may grant no more than $5,000 to specific candidates in each election.
Corporate PACs for four companies – parcel delivery company FedEx, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, cable company Comcast and biotech corporation Genentech – made the maximum legal contributions to the committees of Democrats at the beginning of the year, before doing the same for the Republican committees later in the year, FT analysis shows.
