This mix of photos shows, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., talking to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Aug. 3, 2021, left, and Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker speaking in Perry, Ga., Sept. 25, 2021.
AP
Democrats running in among the country’s closest Senate races headed into the ultimate weeks of their campaigns with a money edge over their Republican rivals, based on newly released Federal Election Commission records.
Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman and Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., all got here into October with extra cash available than their GOP opponents, records show. The additional money could give their campaigns a lift as Democrats try to realize an edge in Nov. 8 elections that might resolve control of the Senate next yr.
Mandela Barnes, the nominee for Wisconsin’s Senate seat, however, got here into October with barely less money available than Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
Nonpartisan forecaster Cook Political Report has rated all 4 of those races as toss-ups. They’re among the many critical contests that can determine whether Democrats can hold their razor-thin majority within the Senate. The party controls the upper chamber of Congress, which is split 50-50 by party, through Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote.
While Democratic candidates have outraised Republicans in a lot of an important Senate races, outside GOP groups equivalent to the Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund have helped to shut the gap. Political motion committees allied with each parties have piled tens of millions of dollars into attack ads within the races.
Polling averages show tight races in all 4 states. Fetterman leads GOP candidate Mehmet Oz by greater than 3 percentage points, based on RealClearPolitics.
Warnock also leads Republican Herschel Walker by a mean of about 3 percentage points, based on the location. Polls in Georgia haven’t budged much since Walker’s ex-girlfriend alleged the previous football star, a staunch abortion opponent, paid for her to have an abortion.
Polls suggest Cortez Masto and Barnes could have a tougher time winning their races than their Democratic counterparts. The Nevada incumbent trails Republican Adam Laxalt by a mean of just below 2 percentage points, based on RealClearPolitics. Barnes lags behind Johnson by nearly 3 percentage points, the location’s polling average shows.
Democrats may have the additional money to assist them overcome a difficult national landscape. A Latest York Times/Siena College poll released Monday found 49% of likely voters said they planned to vote for a Republican to represent them in Congress, compared with 45% who expected to vote for a Democrat.
Fetterman and Warnock had nearly twice as much money available as their rivals did going into October. The records show that Fetterman had $4.1 million within the bank, while Oz trailed with $2.5 million. Warnock’s campaign had $13 million in money reserves, topping Walker’s, which had just over $7 million.
Barnes, Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor, entered the ultimate stretch of the campaign with less money than Johnson although he outraised him within the third quarter. Barnes had north of $3 million within the bank coming into October, trailing Johnson’s greater than $4 million.
Barnes easily outraised Johnson within the July through September period. His campaign took in almost $20 million, while Johnson brought in over $11 million, records show.
