Democratic candidates have outraised Republican rivals by huge margins in key US congressional races, new campaign finance filings show, even as tech billionaire Elon Musk pumped record sums into efforts to keep the GOP in power.
The figures emerged after candidates and political groups submitted their third-quarter fundraising reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by Thursday's deadline, the last quarterly disclosure before the November 3 midterm elections.
In six states viewed as pivotal to Senate control, Texas, Alaska, Ohio, Maine, Michigan and Iowa, Democrats collected between three and six times as much as their Republican opponents in the July-September quarter, according to an analysis of the figures by Punchbowl News.
The reports revealed a striking contrast between Democrats' strong fundraising at the candidate level and Republicans' advantage in money flowing through wealthy donors and outside political groups.
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico raised a record $64 million, compared with $10.2 million for Republican Ken Paxton's campaign.
In Ohio, former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown raised $23.1 million against $4.8 million for Republican incumbent Jon Husted. And in Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson collected $20.4 million compared with $5.2 million for Republican Senator Susan Collins.
Democrats also outpaced Republicans in crucial House races, with at least 47 Republican incumbents outraised by Democratic or independent challengers, compared with only about six Democratic incumbents outraised by Republicans.
At least 27 Democratic candidates in competitive House districts raised more than $2 million each, against just four Republicans.
Massive advertising campaign
Yet Republicans have an enormous financial counterweight in Musk, the world's richest person, whose third-quarter donations of at least $276 million were confirmed in filings, making him the election cycle's largest known political donor.
Of that, $158 million went to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main Republican Senate fundraising group, which is spending the entire sum on bankrolling a massive advertising campaign in Texas supporting Paxton.
Another $20 million went to an organisation backing Republican House candidates.
Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief, has contributed some $366 million during this election cycle, according to US media analyses.
Outside groups can spend enormous amounts independently of campaigns, but candidates get cheaper advertising rates, meaning their dollars can stretch further in the final weeks before the November 3 vote.
Republicans retain sizeable cash reserves in several districts, and fundraising alone cannot determine electoral outcomes.
But the figures underscore the financial resources available to Democrats as they seek to overturn Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress.
