Senate Democratic hopefuls are raising serious cash. They're also spending it.
Democratic Senate hopeful Jaime Harrison of South Carolina raised $57 million between July and September. Sara Gideon in Maine raised more than $39 million in that same period. And Mark Kelly in Arizona brought in $38.7 million. These eye-popping numbers shattered the previous record for fundraising, Beto O'Rourke's $38 million cash haul in the third quarter of 2018. Now the Democrats are spending that money in the face of massive Republican super PAC funds, report CBS News political unit associate producers Sarah Ewall-Wice and Eleanor Watson. And it's left many Republican candidates with more cash on hand than the Democrats in the final weeks of the race. In South Carolina, where the Senate race is unexpectedly tight, Harrison's $57 million in three months was more than double what Republican incumbent Senator Lindsey Graham raised with $28 million, a state record for a Republican. Records show from July through September, Harrison spent more than $55 million. According to his October FEC filing, Harrison paid AL Media LLC more than $42 million over three months for TV, radio and digital advertising. He also spent another $6.5 million for digital advertising and services to Mothership Strategies, and $2 million to Blueprint Strategy LLC for radio and billboard advertising. $641,000 went to "direct mailing services." That amounts to more than $51 million spent on ads and direct mail alone. But after being outraised roughly 2 to 1, Graham's operating expenses covered about half of what he raised, $26.5 million and another $1.75 million was transferred to the state Republican party. In their pre-general election filings, Harrison raised another $22 million in just 14 days from October 1 through 14, but ended the period with just $3.5 million cash on hand. Graham raised less than half of that but had $7.3 million as of October 14.
Even with his record fundraising, Harrison's campaign warned it needed to raise $10 million in the 12 days before the election to beat Graham. In a memo Wednesday, his campaign manager Zack Carroll wrote "our campaign woke up the Republican giant." Carroll pointed out Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's super PAC raised $92 million in September and is already spending to try and stop Harrison. "Too many pundits don't understand what we are up against and have said the Senate campaigns like ours don't need to keep fundraising," it read. "But the fact is that unless our fundraising surges in the final 12 days, we will not be able to match Mitch McConnell jeopardizing our path to victory." On Tuesday, Republican super PAC the Senate Leadership Fund reported it had more than $113 million cash on hand heading into October, even as Republican candidates were being outraised by Democratic challengers. It still had nearly $70 million to burn as of October 14. Democrats' Senate Majority PAC had less than $20 million October 14 and had raised more than $100 million less than what the Senate Leadership Fund brought in across 2020. Other Senate Democrats are also now at a cash disadvantage in the final stretch despite outraising GOP incumbents by millions.
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