Democratic candidates are outraising Republicans in several key contests that will help decide control of the House and Senate, even as the national Democratic Party suffers record-low approval ratings. A wave of retirements and primary challenges is reshaping the field: nearly 70 lawmakers from both parties have announced retirements, are running for other offices, or have already lost primaries.
Headwinds for Republicans include typical midterm dynamics working against the party of the president, plus former President Trump’s unpopularity and voter concerns about the economy, immigration and the war in Iran. Yet Republicans’ financial advantage at the party and super PAC level could blunt Democratic enthusiasm.
Senate fundraising
To flip the Senate, Democrats must defend two seats in states Trump won in 2024 and flip four Republican-held seats. As of the latest filings, Democratic Senate candidates have outraised Republican opponents in seven GOP-held seats: Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Alaska, Florida, Iowa and Texas. In the last quarter Democrats matched or exceeded Republican totals in several races.
Notable reports: Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico raised more than $27 million in the first quarter; Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff reported about $14 million; former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper reported nearly $9 million in his primary account plus significant joint committee receipts. Independents aligned with Democrats also outpaced Republican incumbents in fundraising in deep-red Montana and Nebraska last quarter.
Party and super PAC cash
Despite Democratic strength in some individual races, national Republican committees and allied super PACs hold far larger war chests. The DNC, DCCC and DSCC, along with allied Democratic super PACs, have been outraised by the RNC, NRCC and NRSC and their allied super PACs, Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund. Republican committees and super PACs have roughly double the cash on hand of Democratic counterparts.
Add Trump-aligned MAGA Inc., which has nearly $350 million available, and Republicans collectively have roughly $850 million to defend vulnerable seats and pursue pickups. Those funds give Republicans substantial ability to invest heavily where needed.
Primary dynamics and younger challengers
A number of older House Democratic incumbents who remain in the race face well-funded younger primary challengers relying heavily on individual contributions. In some cases challengers have outraised incumbents — examples include Reps. Brad Sherman and Mike Thompson in California and Rep. Stephen Lynch in Massachusetts. But more money doesn’t guarantee victory: Rep. Valerie Foushee of North Carolina defeated Nida Allam in the primary despite Allam raising about $300,000 more; outside groups spent a record $4.2 million in that primary, largely to support Foushee.
Incumbent strength
Despite attention on competitive and insurgent races, most incumbents remain financially dominant. Incumbents who run for reelection generally win: the average incumbent running accounts for 94% of primary fundraising and 80% of general election fundraising for their seat. Only 22 lawmakers reported raising less than half of the money in their party’s primary recently, a group that includes some older vulnerable House Democrats and GOP senators facing primary challenges, such as Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn.
Ethics and turnover
The dynamics of fundraising and accountability also intersect with ethics issues and turnover. Former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned April 21, 2026, before the House Ethics Committee met regarding alleged campaign finance and ethics violations.
Bottom line
Democrats currently lead in fundraising in several pivotal Senate and House matchups, driven by energized individual donors and competitive nominees. But Republican committees and super PACs, boosted by Trump-aligned funds, have substantially more cash on hand — a resource they can deploy to counter Democratic gains and influence close races as the midterms approach.