Multiple GOP fundraising committees on the national stage are significantly outpacing their Democratic counterparts so far this year as the high-stakes midterm elections near.
On Monday, the National Republican Congressional Committee released its record-breaking total for the first quarter: $47.1 million, including $28.1 million in March. Republicans point to the fundraising numbers as proof of mass “enthusiasm behind our agenda to lower costs and keep Americans safe,” NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson said in a statement.
Recommended Stories
Hours later, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted its first-quarter numbers in a similar press release that sold them as record-breaking. Of the $45.3 million total from January to March, the group brought in $21.5 million last month. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), who also chairs the DCCC, is bullish about Democrats’ opportunity to regain control of Congress.
RNC HOLDS $117 MILLION IN ITS COFFERS WHILE DNC STILL IN THE RED
“United behind the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries, House Democrats’ message of lower costs, affordable health care, and reining in the culture of corruption that’s defined Republican rule the last year, we’re seeing a groundswell of support from all corners of the country,” she said. “Democrats have the momentum, message, and resources to take back the majority in November.”
As one of the DCCC’s recent press releases insists, Democrats outraised Republicans in 42 individual races. Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke, for one, hauled in $2.4 million for the first three months of 2026 against Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), who garnered $1.3 million during the same period.
While both parties are confident about their chances of winning congressional races, the Republican Party is leading the charge money-wise.
RNC vs. DNC
This fundraising advantage is most clearly demonstrated by the Republican National Committee, which raised $21.2 million in March and held nearly $116.7 million in on-hand cash as of March 31. The Federal Election Commission made these figures publicly available by the filing deadline on Monday.
For comparison, the Democratic National Committee raised $11.4 million last month and had nearly $13.9 million in the bank at the end of the latest monthly reporting period. Further adding to its large financial disadvantage, the DNC has over $18.3 million in debt, whereas the RNC still has no debt.
The DNC’s outstanding debt stems from a $15 million loan that the committee took in October 2025, a sign of financial distress following the party’s widespread 2024 election losses. Despite this, the DNC is optimistic about overperforming in many of this year’s elections after its fall 2025 winning streak.
A DNC official noted the group’s fundraising tallies, far behind those of the RNC, are not unusual for a midterm election cycle when the opposing party controls Congress and the White House. The same was true in 2018 when President Donald Trump was in office for his first term.
However, the official said, the DNC raised over $4 million more in March than at this point in 2018 and has 50% more cash on hand than at this time eight years ago. The committee also touted its $6 million in fundraising generated from grassroots supporters, more than 1.5 times the amount raised in March 2018, and pointed to 11 donations that exceeded $100,000 as proof of voters’ enthusiasm for the Democratic Party.
Republican and Democratic committees for House and Senate
The pattern of Republicans dominating the competition financially held across the top party committees in March.
As mentioned above, the NRCC outraised the DCCC by close to $7 million. But the NRCC also had a $78.2 million cash advantage over the DCCC’s $69.9 million.
The pattern broke down in February, when the DCCC raised more money ($13.7 million to $9.9 million) compared to its Republican counterpart, but that slight lead didn’t last very long. It was also undermined by a narrow cash gap that left the NRCC on top ($57.6 million to $57.4 million).
Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee held on to its lead from February to March by raising about $15.6 million last month compared to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s $12.4 million. The NRSC also led the DSCC in cash, $43 million to $36.5 million.
Neither of the House nor Senate committees from both parties has any outstanding debts.
SENATE DEMOCRATS RAISE MASSIVE CAMPAIGN FUNDS AS GOP CANDIDATES LAG
The Republican super PACs are also doing substantially better than the Democratic super PACs. The Republican Party’s Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund have a combined $257 million in cash on hand, about $118 million more than the total from the Democratic Party’s House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC.
Democratic candidates show more strength than committees
Despite the Democratic Party’s growing disadvantage, individual Democratic candidates for the Senate reported large fundraising hauls for the first quarter of the year. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper were among the top candidates with the most funds, although Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and John Cornyn (R-TX) had sizable portions of their own.
