Democratic Senate candidates outraise Republican rivals more than four to one over the summer

Democrats running in the most competitive Senate races pulled in far more money than their Republican opponents over the summer, new campaign finance reports show. With less than three weeks left before the Nov. 3 election, the gap is pushing the fight for the Senate deeper into states the GOP usually wins with ease.

Across more than a dozen battleground contests, Democratic candidates raised a combined $253 million from July through September. That is more than four times the roughly $56 million raised by Republicans in the same races. The reports were filed Thursday with the Federal Election Commission.

Big numbers in red states

Texas produced the widest gap. State Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee, raised $60.2 million in the quarter. Attorney General Ken Paxton raised $10.2 million, his best stretch yet and the most of any Republican Senate candidate this quarter. Talarico is trying to become the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate race since 1988.

In Georgia, Sen. Jon Ossoff brought in $33.1 million while Republican Rep. Mike Collins raised $2.8 million. In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown raised $23.1 million against $4.8 million for Republican Sen. Jon Husted. In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson raised $20.4 million, nearly four times the $5.2 million collected by longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Even Kansas, which has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, is now on the map. Pastor Adam Hamilton outraised Republican Sen. Roger Marshall by more than 10 to 1. Marshall reported a quarterly haul of about $866,000.

One exception

Minnesota was the only competitive race where the Democrat raised less. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan took in $1.2 million while Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter, raised $1.7 million in the contest to replace retiring Sen. Tina Smith.

Outside money fills the gap

Republicans are leaning on super PACs to close the distance. Tech billionaire Elon Musk gave $158 million in two September checks to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main GOP Senate super PAC. Each time the fund passed the same amount along to Texas PAC, a group backing Paxton.

Money given straight to candidates carries a special edge late in a race. Campaigns decide how it is spent and pay lower television ad rates than outside groups do. Super PACs can accept unlimited checks but often pay more for the same airtime.

Some Republicans still began October with more cash in the bank than their big-raising rivals, including Collins in Maine and Husted in Ohio. Collins had about $5.4 million on hand compared with nearly $4 million for Jackson.

Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control of the Senate.