Republicans Are Losing the House Fundraising Battle

Composite / Photos: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Shutterstock

There are just 55 days left until Election Day 2024, and at this late stage, the White House is a toss up while the Senate is leaning Republican thanks to Tim Sheehy’s growing momentum in his race against Democratic incumbent Jon Tester in Montana. The House of Representatives is a slightly different story: The balance of power for the House during the next Congress will come down to results in several key battleground districts. The House majority could end up following the presidential race, but it could also break the opposite way by a thin margin. But even now, some Republicans are musing that they will forfeit their majority in November.

Publicly, Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina—the chairman this cycle for House Republicans’ official campaign arm, the NRCC—has been bullish on his party’s chances of maintaining or even expanding its House majority. He’s claimed they’re “on offense” and cited “really good candidates.”

A handy measure of candidate quality is their ability to raise money. Candidates who are poised to give Democratic incumbents a run for their money (as it were) bring in big bucks because donors view them as a sound investment. Bad candidates often struggle to secure funds.

But when you look at this season’s “Young Guns” program (the NRCC’s roster of fresh challengers, who may have guns but aren’t always young), Hudson’s “really good candidates” aren’t exactly raking in the dough. Many are actually quite far behind their Democratic opponents heading into their campaign’s final stretch.