Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff each brought in more than $ 100 million in a two-month period, setting a blistering fundraising pace in their quest to topple two Republican incumbents in Georgia and seize control of the US Senate, new filings show.
Warnock reported total receipts of more than $ 103 million between October 15 and December 16, far surpassing the nearly $ 64 million collected by Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the Republican incumbent he is trying to unseat. Ossoff, nel frattempo, raised even more: $ 106.8 milioni, according to his filing Thursday with the Federal Election Commission, a sum that shatters fundraising records in a year when Democratic candidates already had raised astounding amounts from energized online contributors.
Sen. Repubblicano. David Perdue, Ossoff’s opponent, had not filed his report with federal regulators as of Thursday evening. Candidates must detail their fundraising and spending by midnight.
The frenzied fundraising underscores the high stakes for the narrowly divided Senate. If Ossoff and Warnock win both seats in the January 5 deflussi, their party will control the chamber since Vice President-elect Kamala Harris can break ties in the Senate.
And new data show television, radio and digital advertising to influence the runoffs already has rocketed past half a billion dollars since Election Day — putting the contests on track to become two of the most expensive Senate races in US history.
Ossoff had led the spending with more than $ 100 million in ad buys and future reservations, according to data from Kantar’s Campaign Media Analysis Group. Warnock has bought nearly $ 88 million in advertising — exceeding the spending by Loeffler and Perdue, according to Kantar
But Republican outside groups, funded by some of the party’s largest donors, have helped make up ground in the advertising war. Three super PACs associated with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — American Crossroads, the Senate Leadership Fund and the newly launched Peachtree PAC — have bought more than $ 137 million in advertising to sway the contests.
Warnock and Loeffler each had more than $ 20 million in available cash for the final sprint to the January 5 deflussi, Thursday’s filings show. Loeffler has tapped her personal fortune to help fund the race. Warnock’s reliance on small donors — more than half of his contributions from individuals came in amounts of $ 200 o meno — provides him with a potential pool of donors to tap for more donations before hitting contribution limits.
Ossoff had about $ 17.5 million remaining in cash reserves. Nearly half his contributions came in small amounts of $ 200 o meno.
