Even as the party faces a worrisome political environment and its candidates are outraised by Democratic ones, powerful Republican groups and super PACs have built a colossal advantage.
Individual Democratic candidates in key midterm races are doing much better financially than their Republican counterparts. But the party should not get too excited about having more cash.
That’s because the Republican Party’s main political committees and allied groups have built a staggering advantage of roughly $600 million over the Democratic ones. The Republican side has about $843.6 million stockpiled compared with just $243 million for Democrats, accounting for debts.
The cash gap could help level the playing field financially or even give Republicans the upper hand as they pour money into the advertising, field operations and other expenses of a midterm campaign.
The edge can be traced to a range of factors, including the Democratic National Committee’s fund-raising struggles and the gigantic war chest amassed by President Trump’s super PAC, whose midterm spending plans remain a mystery.
“I don’t think Republicans will be at a spending disadvantage in this midterms, which has never been the case before,” James Blair, who advises the Trump super PAC, said on Wednesday on CNN. “In fact, I firmly expect they will have a significant spending advantage.”
Mr. Blair, who recently left his role as a top White House aide to lead Mr. Trump’s political operation, added that he expected the super PAC to spend in the midterms.