Vulnerable Senate Dems have big cash advantages

All 10 Democratic senators running for reelection in states President Trump won in the 2016 election have outraised their opponents thus far, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data. 

Talking Points Memo reported that most of those 10 Democrats have at least doubled the fundraising totals of their Republican opponents.

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In addition, half of those Democrats have at least four times as much cash on hand as their top-funded Republican challenger.

The Democrats facing difficult 2018 midterms include Sens. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Bob Casey Jr. (Pa.), Jon Tester (Mont.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.).

McCaskill enjoys the widest gap in funding, with $11.2 million in her campaign account compared to Republican hopeful Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley’s $2.1 million.

Tester and Casey also have multimillion-dollar advantages in total funding over their GOP opponents, according to the data.

McCaskill, Donnelly, Nelson and Heitkamp are considered among the most vulnerable Democrats  in the Senate heading into the November midterm elections. Democrats are hoping to take back control of the House, but face a more difficult path to earn majority control of the Senate. 

Democrats have gathered momentum in recent months by winning a series of local and state special elections while posting significant fundraising totals.