The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has amassed a $94 million war chest and led the National Republican Congressional Committee by a massive $33 million in cash on hand as of June 30, positioning Democrats to withstand a vigorous fall challenge from the GOP in the battle for House control.
The DCCC raised $17 million in June, capping a second-quarter fundraising period in which the House Democratic campaign arm collected $39.3 million and boosted an existing cash lead over the NRCC. The House Republican campaign arm raised a healthy $13.6 million in June. But the NRCC’s overall fundraising for April, May, and June, $35.5 million, fell short of the DCCC’s total.
“House Democrats are on offense, and our grassroots fundraising puts Republicans even further back on their heels,” DCCC spokesman Robyn Patterson said in a statement.
Two years ago, Democrats captured the House majority in a 40-seat swing on the strength of a suburban repudiation of President Trump. But many of the freshman Democrats who helped their party win control of the House for the first time in eight years represent districts Trump carried in 2016, and Republicans are confident that there are enough offensive opportunities for them to reclaim the speaker’s gavel, even with presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden accruing a sizable lead over Trump in public opinion polls.
Some recent developments have encouraged House Republicans.
The party recently flipped a Democratic-controlled House seat in Southern California. And Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, raised $16 million in June after declining to fundraise for most of the second quarter due to the coronavirus. The group’s cash-on-hand reached $50.8 million as of June 30, and House race polls it has commissioned show Republican challengers competitive or ahead in targeted districts held by freshman Democrats.
However, money is expected to be a major stumbling block for the GOP. In addition to the DCCC’s financial prowess, Democratic candidates in key races also are outraising their Republican counterparts. According to information compiled by the DCCC, 16 Democratic challengers had more cash in the bank at the end of the second quarter than did the GOP incumbents they are running against.
Vulnerable House Democrats also have built significantly larger war chests than their Republican challengers, the DCCC said. A spokesman for the NRCC did not respond to request for comment Tuesday morning.
