As the second financial quarter drew to a close this year, more than 70 Democratic challengers had outraised their Republican opponents, according to Federal Election Commission filings provided by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
That total includes more than 50 Republican incumbents as well and the phenomenon is taking place in districts where GOP members are already considered endangered.
In California alone, where Democrats are hopeful they can defeat Republican incumbents in districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016, there are ten Democratic challengers who have raised more than their opponents. That includes Katie Hill, in California’s 25th district, who raised a little over $1 million compared to Rep. Steve Knight's (R-CA) $319,000 raised.
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Democratic candidate Harley Rouda, who is hoping to unseat Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) also easily lapped the long-term incumbent in the second quarter, raising more than $994,000 compared to Rohrabacher’s $192,000.
And one of the starkest differences played out in California's 39th district where Democrat Gil Cisneros brought in a whopping $1.4 million compared to his Republican opponent for the open seat, Young Kim who raised $367,586 total.
Elsewhere, in New Jersey—another state viewed as essential on any path for Democrats to reclaim a majority in the House of Representatives—there were large disparities on display.
In the state’s 2nd congressional district, Democrat Jeff Van Drew raised $411,485 while his opponent Seth Grossman, who has lost the support of national Republican groups following reports of his previous racist remarks, brought in a paltry $65,312 haul.
And one of the larger disparities in fundraising throughout the entire country took place in New Jersey’s 11th congressional district where Democrat Mikie Sherrill posted a quarterly total of $1,378,287 while her Republican opponent Jay Webber raised only $172,768.
The fundraising advantage also stretched to states where Democrats have historically performed poorly, but where new opportunities have emerged to pry away seats in the 2018 cycle. In deep-red Texas, for example, seven Republicans got outraised by their Democratic challengers.
Money alone can’t win anyone an election, but Democrats point to the overall trend as indicative of the energy on their side and the willingness of contributors to remain active ahead of November’s midterm elections.
“There’s no question that Democrats are charging into the general elections with all the momentum,” DCCC spokesperson Tyler Law said.
