Midterms Fundraising: Which Politicians Rake in Cash Ahead of Elections

Data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) shows Democrats ahead of Republicans in overall fundraising, with more success among House Democrats than senators, as the parties gear up for a fierce 2026 midterm election.

The Republicans swept into power with President Donald Trump‘s victory in last year’s presidential election, securing both the House and Senate majorities. However, those margins remain slim, making next year’s midterms vital for both parties as they vie for control during one of the most tense and fraught political periods in recent memory.

Democrats will look to secure Congress and reverse some of the policies the president has enacted upon taking office, while Republicans are keen to retain power and extend those policy wins for Trump and the GOP alike.

Why It Matters

Republicans currently have 53 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate and 219 of the 538 seats in the House of Representatives, where four seats remain vacant at this time.

Historically, the first midterm for a president sees his party lose seats, which Trump witnessed during his first term.

As Trump is a non-consecutive two term president, it will prove difficult to know if he can expect similar drops next year. However, he has taken no chances and is looking to secure any advantage he can, which includes Texas and other Republican-controlled states redistricting ahead of the midterms.

Meanwhile, California has retaliated against Texas by proposing to redistrict its congressional map in a similar measure.

What To Know

Grassroots campaigns like the 2018 election that saw Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, secure her seat and the 2025 Democratic mayoral primary that saw longshot candidate Zohran Mamdani upset establishment favorite Andrew Cuomo, a former governor of New York, the question remains how valuable fundraising will be as a metric in future elections.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris outspent Trump by millions of dollars in last year’s presidential election and still lost.

However, political analysts have long relied on fundraising as an indication of enthusiasm for each party and the level of reach and voter penetration candidates have achieved.

Democrats saw huge fundraising margins ahead of the 2018 and 2022 midterms, both of which proved successful for the party as they first took power back from Republicans in the first Trump term and then held off a much-prophesized “Red Wave” during the Biden administration to keep margins slim for the Republican majority.

At the top level, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is struggling to build a war chest in the face of Republican dominance, according to Politico, with the DNC raising around $15 million by the end of June as compared to the Republican National Committee (RNC) with $80 million.

Politico found that major Democratic donors have held back from donating in the aftermath of Trump’s dominant win, and have failed to generate enthusiasm among small-dollar donors, leading to the lowest funding level for the DNC at any point in the last five years.

Who Is Leading Fundraising in the Senate?

Once again the Democrats are seeing an advantage in fundraising, according to FEC data. The Democratic Senate candidates have collectively raised $159.7 million compared to Republican Senate candidates, who have raised $131.9 million.

Those numbers in isolation only tell a part of the story. The top 10 Senate candidates by fundraising are evenly split between both parties, with the significant bulk of fundraising directed towards Senators Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Ossoff lost a special election for Georgia’s 6th Congressional district in 2020 but went on to win a Senate seat later that year. Georgia’s near-toss up nature in the most recent elections has made it a vital state for both parties, with Ossoff raising just under $42 million, which comprises around 25 percent of the total money raised by Senate Democrats.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina leads Republican fundraising with $17.3 million—significantly more than the second-highest fundraiser, Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, who has raised $11.3 million.

Joshua Joseph Weil, a Democratic candidate from Florida, had to withdraw from the race due to medical concerns, but he had outraised all Republicans aside from Graham.

For Democrats, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, who announced a Senate bid for this coming term, round out their numbers in the top 10.

For Republicans, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and Senator John Cornyn of Texas round out their numbers in the top 10. Cornyn, who has the least money raised in the top 10, has raised just over $8 million.

Who Is Leading Fundraising in the House of Representatives?

Fundraising in the House is much closer, with Democrats still in the lead but by half of the advantage their Senate colleagues have. Democrats lead fundraising with just over $219.5 million compared to Republicans, who have raised just under $210 million.

The House Democrats also have a little more share of the top 10 fundraisers overall, with Ocasio-Cortez leading the charge with $15.4 million raised, outstripping Representative Ro Khanna of California and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, with over double their individual efforts, which have each totaled a little over $6 million.

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana tops the Republican fundraisers with just under $8.7 million raised, again almost double the next-most raised, which is by Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who has raised just under $4.7 million.

Other notable members of the top 10 include Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat, with just over $3.8 million, and Representative Young Kim, a California Republican, who has raised the least in the top 10 with just under $3.3 million.