In their drive to regain control of both chambers of Congress, Democratic candidates are outraising Republicans in several key races even as the national Democratic Party struggles with low approval ratings.
A wave of individual contributions is also fueling well-funded primary challenges to older Democratic incumbents, at a time when nearly 70 lawmakers from both parties have announced retirements, bids for other offices, or have already lost primaries.
Republicans face midterm headwinds tied to President Trump’s unpopularity and voter concerns about the economy, immigration and the war in Iran. Still, national Republican committees and allied super PACs have amassed hundreds of millions of dollars they can deploy to blunt Democratic momentum. Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC alone holds nearly $350 million in cash on hand.
Democratic Senate candidates lead fundraising in several key states
To take back the Senate, Democrats must defend two seats in states Trump won in 2024 and flip four Republican-held seats. As of the latest filing deadline, Democratic candidates have outraised Republican opponents in seven GOP-held seats: Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Alaska, Florida, Iowa and Texas. Democrats also matched or exceeded Republican fundraising in multiple other Senate contests last quarter.
Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico reported more than $27 million in first-quarter receipts, followed by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff with about $14 million. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper reported nearly $9 million in his primary account plus additional funds in a joint committee. Independent candidates aligned with Democrats out-raised Republican incumbents last quarter in deep-red Montana and Nebraska.
Republicans have far more cash on hand — and will need it
Despite Democratic strength in individual race fundraising, donors are less enthusiastic about national Democratic committees. The Democratic National Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, along with allied super PACs House Majority Project and Senate Majority Project, have been outraised this cycle by their Republican counterparts.
The Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee and allied super PACs — Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund — have roughly double the cash on hand of the Democratic committees. Including MAGA Inc., Republicans have nearly $850 million banked to defend vulnerable House and Senate seats and pursue pickups in toss-up contests.
Young challengers are pressuring older House Democrats
A number of older House Democrats who haven’t retired are facing younger primary challengers funded largely by small-dollar individual contributions; in some cases challengers have outraised incumbents. Nearly a dozen vulnerable incumbents fit this pattern, including California Reps. Brad Sherman and Mike Thompson, and Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch. More fundraising does not guarantee victory: Rep. Valerie Foushee of North Carolina defeated Nida Allam despite Allam raising nearly $300,000 more. Outside groups spent a record $4.2 million in that primary, largely supporting Foushee.
Most incumbents remain financially secure
Control of Congress still hinges on a relatively small number of districts, and incumbents who run for reelection overwhelmingly win. Many sitting lawmakers have no primary challengers or face opponents with minimal fundraising. On average, incumbents running for reelection accounted for 94% of primary fundraising and 80% of general-election fundraising for their seats.
Only 22 lawmakers reported raising less than half of their party’s primary funds in the last quarter or overall; that group includes some vulnerable older Democrats and some Republicans facing tough primaries, like Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and John Cornyn of Texas. One vulnerable member, former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, resigned April 21, 2026, ahead of an ethics committee meeting about campaign finance and ethics violations.
Bottom line: Democrats show strength in candidate-level fundraising in many competitive Senate and House races, and young donors are reshaping some primaries. But Republican committees and allied super PACs — amplified by MAGA Inc. — hold a substantial cash advantage they can deploy across the map.