Democrats Take $25.5M Fundraising Lead In Critical Senate Race

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In terms of campaign fundraising, the Republican candidate who polling suggests will win the upcoming GOP primary race for Senate in New Hampshire is over $25.5 million behind the incumbent Democrat he would challenge in November if successful, according to available data.

The Republican is Don Bolduc, a retired general who is firmly in Trump’s corner of the party, although the former president himself hadn’t endorsed anybody as of this weekend, and the Democratic Senator up for re-election in the state is Maggie Hassan, who is in her first term. Chris Sununu, the Republican currently in office as New Hampshire’s governor, infamously declined to join the race to unseat Hassan, leaving Republicans with less-than-favorable candidate options. Even Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who previously led the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is a national GOP organization that — as its name suggests — handles Senate elections, just recently expressed concerns about Bolduc’s prospects if he wins the primary. “It would be a shame to nominate somebody who can’t win in the general election,” Cornyn said. “I’m afraid that would be the case for the leading candidate right now.”

As for fundraising, data available from the Federal Election Commission that ends August 24 shows that the Hassan campaign already raised a total of over $26.1 million since January 1 of last year. Most of that total is from individual contributions, it’s worth noting. As for Bolduc, his fundraising total across the same period rounds to $579,000 — and that’s it. Most of that total is also from individual contributions. There is also a dramatic gap in the amounts both candidates have in available funds. For Bolduc’s campaign, the total is just $84,000, as of the same ending point for the fundraising data. Hassan’s total is $7.3 million. Although there is obviously time for fortunes to change if Bolduc actually wins this week, and despite the opportunity for spending by outside groups on behalf of Bolduc’s campaign if he wins, there is a clear gap in campaign power.

Sununu threw his support behind another candidate in the GOP primary, state Sen. Chuck Morse, but the governor’s backing might not prove enough for pushing Morse’s campaign to victory.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the current leader of the Republican organization Cornyn formerly led, is — predictably — maintaining an about-face regarding the party’s prospects in New Hampshire, but he also unveiled a set of policy proposals including highlights like raising income taxes on around half the country, so he’s not exactly a levelheaded source for anything. Scott eventually dropped the proposal from an updated version of his policy agenda for Republicans. Scott claimed he simply wanted a conversation “about able-bodied Americans who are living off of government programs instead of working.” Does that include you, Rick? What about Republican Senators who barely do anything but fly around from fundraiser to fundraiser while posting snarky Twitter comments and never or barely ever engaging with the legislative process?

Image: Gage Skidmore/ Creative Commons