Donors plow more than $50 million into last-minute battle for the Senate
Note: This post has been updated
WASHINGTON — Wealthy donors have dropped more than $50 million into Senate races in recent weeks as both parties battle for control of the chamber.
Democratic donors, eager to seize the Senate from Republicans, poured $19.3 million into the Senate Majority PAC during the first 19 days of October, its best fundraising haul of the election. The group, tied to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had $13 million remaining in the bank at the end of the reporting period.
"Record-setting support has us well positioned for this final stretch of the cycle,” the group’s spokesman Shripal Shah said in an email. “In less than two weeks, Democrats are going to take back the Senate."
The leading Republican super PAC focused on Senate races, the Senate Majority PAC, said it collected $7 million between Oct. 1-19 and took in an additional $25 million in the past week from Republican donors, panicked that their party could lose its 54-46 majority in the chamber.
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The stakes are high. Democrats need to net just five seats to take the Senate majority, and just four if Democrat Hillary Clinton takes the White House, giving her vice president the power to break tie votes.
Democrats are spending big in the hopes of winning the White House and seeing down-ballot gains. Priorities USA Action, a super PAC backing Clinton, raised $18 million between Oct. 1-19 and has begun to advertise in Senate and House races to help other Democrats. In all, it has brought in $175 million for the cycle, making it the best-funded super PAC of the 2016 election.
Big Democratic donors in October include Chicago media mogul Fred Eychaner, who donated $5 million to Senate Majority PAC on Oct. 6, bringing to $10 million his total contributions to that group this year. He also opened his wallet for Priorities this month, donating $2 million.
Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, a new arrival to the world of political giving, also is unleashing millions in last-minute donations to boost Democrats. New filings show he donated $2.5 million to Priorities this month.
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In addition to the $32 million,that the Senate Leadership Fund brought in from donors this month, its leaders also transferred another $11 million from a non-profit arm to aid the last-ditch effort to save imperiled Republican incumbents.
The group, aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has started plowing $25 million into Senate races to help Republicans in six states: Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. All but one seat — the Nevada post now occupied by Reid, who is retiring — is currently held by a Republican.
Contributors to Senate Leadership this month include Linda McMahon, a former Senate candidate and wrestling franchise magnate, who gave $500,000, and California financier Bill Oberndorf, who contributed $750,000.
Thursday marks the final deadline before Election Day for candidates and political action committees to file fundraising reports with the Federal Election Commission.
Contributing: Christopher Schnaars