House Democrats and Candidates Outpace Republicans As DCCC Massively Outraises NRCC in First Quarter

Unnamed GOP Strategist to NBC News: “It’s always a concern when we see our incumbents and candidates being outspent.”

For the second quarter in a row, Democrats have outraised Republicans on average, highlighting the growing momentum for House Democrats to retake the majority this November.

Recent reporting from NBC News reveals how Republican chaos, infighting, and dysfunction is playing out in the races that will determine the House majority next fall.

At the same time, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee outraised the NRCC by $12 million this past quarter, heading into the summer with $15 million more cash on hand.

NBC News: Democrats begin to outpace Republicans in fundraising for key House races
Bridget Bowman, Ben Kamisar and Joe Murphy | April 18, 2024

• Democratic candidates outraised Republicans in almost every one of the most competitive seats in the race for the House, according to new fundraising reports filed this week, a setback for Republicans who had been hoping their candidates were turning a corner.

• The latest fundraising reports, spanning the first three months of the year, also come as Republicans navigate life without an experienced prolific fundraiser as speaker after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster (and with current Speaker Mike Johnson fighting continual intraparty threats to his leadership).

• Ten of the 11 Republican incumbents in races rated as “toss ups” by The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter were outraised by at least one Democratic challenger.

• Republican incumbents who were outraised include: Reps. David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani of Arizona; John Duarte, David Valadao, Mike Garcia and Ken Calvert of California; Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey; and Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro and Anthony D’Esposito of New York.

• In races against Schweikert, Garcia, Calvert, Lawler and Molinaro, a Democratic candidate also finished the first quarter of 2024 with more cash on hand than the incumbent.

• On average, Democratic incumbents in “tossup” races raised more than $1 million on average in the first quarter, while the average GOP incumbent in a similar race raised $619,000.

• “Everyone can see the writing on the wall: House Republicans, consumed by chaos and crisis, are about to lose their majority,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement.

• McCarthy’s exit has dealt a blow to GOP fundraising. Speaker Mike Johnson’s joint fundraising committee, which funnels money to vulnerable GOP lawmakers and state parties, raised $9.1 million from January through March. McCarthy’s similar committee brought in three times more — $28.9 million — over the same period last year.

• “It’s always a concern when we see our incumbents and candidates being outspent,” said one national GOP strategist involved in House races.

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