Candidates Fundraise Billions Ahead of Heated Midterm Elections

Midterm candidates are raking in money this election season. Tight races in a number of states are attracting wallets from across the nation, as both parties seek out any edge possible that may tip the balance of power in their favor. OpenSecrets reported this week that state-level candidates are expected to raise a total in excess of $7 billion in election contributions.

Key Quotes: OpenSecrets Executive Director Sheila Krumholz said “Republicans and Democrats are engaged in an intensifying money race with polarization bringing more money than ever into our elections. State-level candidates vying to oversee future elections are seeing an especially noteworthy surge in funding, highlighting the public’s concern with election integrity.” USA Today published a breakdown of campaign financing, determining that “much of the money in politics doesn't come from small, individual donors,” but instead Political Action Committees. The Wall Street Journal (Center Bias) analyzed which cities are seeing the most money spent on campaign advertisements, which topics each party’s ads focus on, and the percentage of negative ads from each party, concluding that “with Democrats controlling Congress and the White House, they are more likely to run ads touting their accomplishments, while Republicans are trying to draw a contrast with the party in power.”

For Context: Polling indicates both the House of Representatives and the Senate are up for grabs in these midterm elections, so many national PACs are contributing to state races that could determine the majority in each chamber. Additionally, 36 states are holding gubernatorial elections.