Over $560 million in campaign contributions flooded 2022 Senate races in first year of

On Nov 26, 2022

Georiga Senate — (*Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images*)

More than $560 million went into the 34 upcoming Senate races nationwide in 2021, as Republicans fight to gain control of Congress and Democrats strive to increase their 50-50 marginal majority in the Senate.

That’s up from $327 million raised by Senate candidates in 2019, the first year of the 2020 presidential cycle. In 2017, the first year of the 2018 midterm election cycle, Senate campaigns brought in $311 million and raised just $211 million in 2015.

Of the 34 Senate races, 20 raked in more than $10 million dollars in campaign contributions during 2021, with much of the money focused on battleground elections.

The 14 races that did not hit the $10 million mark — Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont — are unlikely to flip, having each been rated as “Solid D” or “Solid R” by the Cook Political Report.

Here are the top 15 Senate races that brought in the most cash in 2021.

1. Ohio (Leans R) — $50.3 million

Ohio is one of the most anticipated races of 2022 due to the crowded field it has attracted.

After Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) announced that he would not seek reelection, 10 Republicans declared their candidacy for Ohio’s open Senate seat.

The Republican candidates’ steepest challenge will be coming out on top during the May 3 primary, after which the winner will go on to a general election deemed to lean toward the GOP by Cook Political Report.

The winner of the Republican primary will go on to face the winner of the Democratic primary, whose top fundraiser by far was Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) at $8.5 million, followed by attorney Morgan Harper at $872,000.

The competitiveness among the GOP candidates is evident from the $15.5 million the top seven Republican candidates collectively spent in 2021. Six of those candidates raised seven figures in 2021.

However, the vast majority of money raised among the Republican candidates was self-funded. The seven candidates’ campaigns reported collectively raising $40.8 million in 2021 — of that, $29.6 million was self-financed by candidates. The only major Republican candidate in the Ohio Senate race who did not rely on self-financing at all is Josh Mandel, the pro-Trump former Ohio treasurer and Marine Corps veteran.

Investment banker Mike Gibbons self-financed the largest amount of any candidate in the race to the tune of $11.4 million, but state senator Matt Dolan trails not far behind with $10.5 million of his fundraising coming from self-financing.

Dolan is the only Republican contender in the Ohio Senate race to say he is not seeking an endorsement from former President Donald Trump. The other Republicans in the race have worked tirelessly to tie themselves to Trump, prompting businessman Bernie Moreno to drop out of the race in early February, after meeting with Trump.

“After talking to President Trump we both agreed this race has too many Trump candidates and could cost the MAGA movement a conservative seat,” Moreno said in a statement.

Prior to dropping out, Moreno had similarly self-financed, injecting nearly $4 million of his own cash into his campaign.

2. Florida (Leans R) — $46.4 million

While not matching Ohio’s fundraising haul, candidates in Florida amassed an impressive $46.4 million in 2021 — the second-highest amount among the 34 races.
Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), who represents Florida’s 10th congressional district in Orange County, launched a well-funded campaign challenging incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). While Demings will have to face multiple candidates in the primary, in terms of fundraising, the race is between her and Rubio.

“After talking to President Trump we both agreed this race has too many Trump candidates and could cost the MAGA movement a conservative seat,” Moreno said in a statement.

Prior to dropping out, Moreno had similarly self-financed, injecting nearly $4 million of his own funds into his campaign.

3. Georgia (Toss-up) — $45.2 million

Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff flipped Georgia’s two Senate seats blue in 2021, handing marginal control of the Senate to Democrats. With Warnock’s seat up for reelection due to last year’s special election, both Democrats and Republicans alike are vying for a win, and the money flowing into the race reflects that.

Warnock has continued to break fundraising records, bringing in $29.8 million in contributions for the 2022 election cycle after nearly $146 million in fundraising for the special election. Several Republicans hope to face off against him in the general election, though Trump-endorsed former University of Georgia star football player Herschel Walker (R) has a large fundraising lead among the Republican contenders with nearly $9.1 million raised in 2021.

With Republicans aiming to regain control of the Senate in 2022, Georgia is certainly a battleground state to watch.

4. Arizona (Toss-up)— $40.4 million

Arizona is another race that will be key in determining which party will control the Senate, as incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) fights to hold onto the seat he flipped blue during a special election in 2020.

Although Kelly has raised nearly double the amount of all the Republican candidates combined, he still faces a tough battle in the toss-up race. The highest fundraising Republican candidate, solar energy entrepreneur Jim Lamon, has relied heavily on self-financing — contributing more than 90% of the campaign’s $8.6 million himself.

The second highest fundraising Republican, venture capitalist Blake Masters, in contrast has only self-financed 0.2% of the $2.6 million he fundraised. Masters has attracted significant outside support from Peter Thiel, who gave $10 million to pro-Masters super PAC Saving Arizona.

5. Pennsylvania (Toss-up) — $38.3 million

The impending retirement of Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) leaves a vacancy in Pennsylvania that has attracted relatively crowded primary fields on both sides, including four Democrats and five Republicans surpassing $1 million in funds raised in 2021.

Leading the pack is Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), who raked in $11.9 million in 2021, mainly from small individual donors. Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) is the second-highest Democratic fundraiser but fourth overall, bringing in $3.9 million.

Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz filed his first reports disclosing spending and fundraising in the Pennsylvania Senate race with the FEC last month. The records show that he received about $5.9 million since he entered the race on Nov. 30, 2021, though the vast majority of that — $5.2 million — was self-financed.

Oz is the second-highest fundraiser overall, followed by Republicans Carla Sands and Jeff Bartos, who have similarly leaned into self-financing.

$3.6 million of Sands’ $4.2 million is self-financed, while just under $1.3 million of Bartos’ $3.3 million is.

6. South Carolina (Solid R) —$36.6 million

Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) seat is rated as “Solid R” and it’s highly unlikely that his nine-year-long hold on the seat will come to an end. Nonetheless, Scott is a prolific fundraiser and thus the South Carolina seat is one of the most cash-flush.

Three Democrats have joined the race, and although fundraising data for preservationist Catherine Fleming Bruce is not yet available due to her recent entrance — nearly all of the $36.6 million raised in 2021 for the race came from Scott ($36.5 million).

7. New York (Solid D) — $34.8 million

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is a skilled fundraiser. His leadership position and lengthy congressional tenure only help his fundraising efforts, which is why New York’s Senate race has nearly $35 million in it, despite Schumer…