Republican super PACs bank millions ahead of midterm battles

NBC News

5 days ago

Republicans are betting that they can defend their slim congressional majorities in next year's midterm elections, and the party's biggest donors are putting their chips on the table, too.
New fundraising reports filed Thursday for outside groups show that GOP megadonors are engaged in the fight for Congress, steering $59.2 million to the main two super PACs involved in House and Senate races aligned with GOP leadership, Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund, throughout the first six months of the year.
The two major super PACs aligned with Democratic congressional leadership, Senate Majority PAC and House Majority PAC, raised $38.6 million combined.
The GOP groups had $62 million left in their accounts as of June 30, while the Democratic groups had $35.8 million. And neither those figures nor the totals raised include all of the groups' nonprofit arms, which can also raise unlimited funds but do not have to disclose their donors.
While Republicans may have an early advantage in the super PAC money chase, that doesn't necessarily mean they will be able to swamp the airwaves. Democratic candidates have typically raised more money directly for their campaigns than the average Republican candidate has in recent years, riding a wave of small-donor enthusiasm unleashed in response to President Donald Trump's first election in 2016.
That candidate-to-candidate financial advantage pays dividends, since candidates can reserve television airtime at lower rates than outside groups.
Still, the big hauls from Republican groups are a sign that the party's donors are tuned into the midterm battle ahead, with both groups raising substantially more than the first six months of 2021, the last midterm election cycle.
That period was also marked by GOP donors pulling back from Republican causes after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
SLF, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, pulled in $26.5 million during the first six months of the year, four times the size of its haul at this point in 2021. CLF, which is aligned with Speaker Mike Johnson, raised $32.7 million, more than double its 2021 haul.
The same group of megadonors — hedge fund manager Paul Singer, current United Kingdom Ambassador Warren Stephens, investor Mark Rowan and poultry businessman Ronald Cameron — gave $1 million or more to each of the groups.
The biggest checks came from billionaire Elon Musk, who donated $5 million each to SLF and CLF on June 27, after he had left his role as a White House. Musk, who also donated to a pro-Trump super PAC, made his contributions before publicly musing about starting a third party in July.
On the Democratic side, HMP saw a 50% increase compared to its 2021 haul, bringing in $21.2 million so far this year. But SMP saw a slight decrease, raising $17.3 million so far. And the groups drew from different big donors.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker gave $1 million to HMP but not SMP, the filings show. And HMP also benefited from Democratic megadonors including Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and hedge fund manager Stephen Mandel.
SMP, meanwhile, had million-dollar donations from software company founder Phillip Ragon, Olan Mills and real estate mogul George Marcus.
Senate GOP candidates aren't just going to be boosted by SLF's significant resources; some will benefit from strong fundraising by outside groups specifically devoted to their elections, both in red and swing states.
These candidate-specific Republican Senate super PACs have emerged to push back against the Democratic candidates' hard-money advantage.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the only Republican defending a seat in a state Democrats regularly win statewide, has overcome a big fundraising discrepancy before — her Democratic opponent in 2020, Sarah Gideon, outraised her $75.6 million to $27.8 million between 2019 and 2020, but Collins won that race by almost 9 percentage points.
After outraising her top Democratic opponent last quarter, Collins' allied super PAC, Pine Tree Results PAC, reported raising $5.6 million in the first six months of 2025, thanks to some key seven-figure checks from private equity CEO Stephen Schwarzman and New Balance executive James Davis.
In Michigan, home to what's expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races of the cycle, a group backing Republican Mike Rogers could help him combat strong fundraising on the Democratic side. Great Lakes Conservatives Fund, a pro-Rogers group, raised $5.1 million through June, virtually all from oil billionaire Timothy Dunn.
In Texas, where Sen. John Cornyn faces a tough GOP primary challenge from state Attorney General Ken Paxton, Cornyn is trying to counter Paxton's direct fundraising lead with a strong fundraising showing from outside groups. Texans for a Conservative Majority, a super PAC backing Cornyn, raised almost $11 million in the first six months of the year.
And Louisiana GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, who faces a primary challenge from state Treasurer John Fleming, is also getting an outside boost from a group called Louisiana Freedom Fund, which raised $2.5 million over that same time period.