WASHINGTON: Democratic candidates have outraised Republican rivals by huge margins in key US congressional races, new campaign finance filings show, even as tech billionaire Elon Musk pumped record sums into efforts to keep President Donald Trump’s party in power.
The figures emerged after candidates and political groups submitted their third-quarter fundraising reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by Thursday’s deadline — the last quarterly disclosure before the November 3 midterm elections.
In six states viewed as pivotal to Senate control — Texas, Alaska, Ohio, Maine, Michigan and Iowa — Democrats collected between three and six times as much as their Republican opponents in the July-September quarter, according to an analysis of the figures by Punchbowl News.
The reports revealed a striking contrast between Democrats’ strong fundraising at the candidate level and Republicans’ advantage in money flowing through wealthy donors and outside political groups.
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico raised a record USD64 million, compared with USD10.2 million for Republican Ken Paxton’s campaign.
In Ohio, former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown raised USD23.1 million against USD4.8 million for Republican incumbent Jon Husted. And in Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson collected USD20.4 million compared with USD5.2 million for Republican Senator Susan Collins.
Democrats also outpaced Republicans in crucial House races, with at least 47 Republican incumbents outraised by Democratic or independent challengers, compared with only about six Democratic incumbents outraised by Republicans.
At least 27 Democratic candidates in competitive House districts raised more than USD2 million each, against just four Republicans.
Yet Republicans have an enormous financial counterweight in Musk, the world’s richest person, whose third-quarter donations of at least USD276 million were confirmed in the filings, making him the largest known political donor of the election cycle.
Of that, USD158 million went to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main Republican Senate fundraising group, which is spending the entire sum on bankrolling a massive advertising campaign in Texas supporting Paxton.
Another USD20 million went to an organization backing Republican House candidates.
Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief who briefly served in Trump’s administration before a public falling-out and subsequent reconciliation, has contributed some USD366 million during this election cycle, according to US media analyses.
“This is why we have gridlock. This is why we can’t solve problems or approve of bipartisanship,” Democratic strategist Donna Brazile posted on Musk’s social media network X, sharing an article on the enormous third-quarter sum.
Outside groups can spend enormous amounts independently of campaigns, but candidates enjoy cheaper advertising rates — meaning their dollars can stretch further in the final weeks before the November 3 vote.
Republicans retain sizeable cash reserves in several districts, and fundraising alone cannot determine electoral outcomes.
But the figures underscore the financial resources available to Democrats as they seek to overturn Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress.