House GOP campaign arm touts fundraising figures in tight races

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is touting new fundraising numbers in its effort to flip several swing districts in November, pointing to GOP challengers who raised more than Democratic incumbents during the third quarter, according to an internal memo shared with The Hill.

Political forecasters have painted a grim picture for the House GOP come November, with some projecting the party could lose between five and 15 seats. The prospects for Republican gains were dealt another blow by so-called Democratic front liners largely outraising GOP challengers in the past quarter.

But Republicans are hopeful that 16 of members of its Young Guns program are better positioned than they were earlier after edging out their opponents in terms of fundraising during the third quarter of 2020.

Some of the GOP candidates mentioned in the memo include Young Kim, who narrowly lost her race against Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.) in 2018. Kim brought in $1.8 million to his $872,000 and has a cash on hand advantage of $542,635, according to the NRCC.

“These candidates are having powerful fundraising quarters and everyone ought to be taking them seriously down the home stretch,” NRCC spokesperson Chris Pack said in a statement.

On Thursday, the House Democratic campaign arm announced it had raised $70 million during the third quarter and entered September with $35 million more cash on hand than the NRCC. The NRCC has not yet publicly released its September fundraising.

“Democrats have outworked, outhustled, and outraised Republicans all cycle long,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Robyn Patterson in a statement. “Our candidates will keep using the resource advantage they have built over the last 22 months to push deep into Republican territory and hold Republicans responsible for trying to rip away Americans’ health coverage during a deadly pandemic.”

Updated at 2:10 p.m.