The super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky raised $27 million in the first quarter and entered this month with a $72.3 million war chest to spend on the midterm elections.
The Senate Leadership Fund’s haul, which included a $2.1 million transfer from the group’s affiliated political nonprofit group, One Nation, eclipsed what the super PAC raised during the same period in 2020. But the eye-catching figure Senate Leadership Fund will report to the Federal Election Commission is its cash on hand. The $72.3 million the group banked as of March 31 surpassed its cash stockpile at the same point two years ago by $20.5 million.
The Senate Leadership Fund provided the Washington Examiner with a first look at its fundraising statistics for January, February, and March on Wednesday.
DEMOCRATIC REP. SLOTKIN DRAWS BIG CAMPAIGN CASH IN BID FOR MICHIGAN TOSS-UP SEAT
The 2022 cycle is shaping up as a possible Republican wave. But many of the incumbent Senate Democrats in the GOP’s crosshairs are outraising potential Republican challengers — and by significant amounts. Especially in the case of targeted Senate races where several Republicans are battling for their party’s nomination in spring and summer primaries, the Democrats’ early financial advantage could prove crucial to the outcome of the general election.
That is where the Senate Leadership Fund believes it can be most effective. The group is prepared to fill this financial gap, beginning immediately through Nov. 8, particularly in those Senate races where the likely or eventual GOP nominee is playing catchup on fundraising. On this front, McConnell’s super PAC is poised to make major investments in Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Ohio. The Senate Leadership Fund also is keeping an eye on Pennsylvania.
However, the probable GOP nominee in the Keystone State, either former hedge fund executive David McCormick or veteran television personality Mehmet Oz, are both personally wealthy and prepared to self-fund their campaigns to the extent necessary.
The Senate is split 50-50, with Democrats controlling the majority because of Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote.
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Republicans commanded the chamber for six years after winning the majority in 2014 but lost control in January 2021 after the Democrats captured both Georgia Senate seats in a pair of runoff elections.
The Senate Leadership Fund, run by McConnell loyalists, was formed shortly after the 2014 elections.
