(Bloomberg) -- Democrats have one major advantage in their uphill fight to maintain control of the Senate after November elections: cold, hard cash.
In five of the six races rated “tossups” by the Cook Political Report, Democratic candidates have more money in the bank, some more than $5 million dollars more, allowing them to outspend rivals on ads, outreach and getting voters to the polls.
The Senate is currently split 50-50, so Republicans need to flip only one seat to put the brakes on President Joe Biden's policies and appointments. The incumbent president's party usually loses seats in midterm elections and the picture for Democrats is made even more bleak by low polling, voter malaise and the lingering pandemic.
But Democrats still enjoy wide financial advantages in the three seats they're defending and in two of the three competitive seats that Republicans need to hold to win a majority.
Republican candidates still have time to close the fundraising gap with Democrats, and party committees and super PACs can also help level the playing field. And more money doesn't always ensure victory: Beto O'Rourke raised $33 million more than Senator Ted Cruz in 2018 but came up short in his bid to unseat the Texas Republican. That same year, Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, raised $39 million but still lost to Republican challenger Josh Hawley, who raised $12 million.
This year, Georgia incumbent Raphael Warnock has built a $22.9 million war chest after raising $9.8 million in the fourth quarter. Republican Herschel Walker, the former NFL star who'd been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, ended the year with $5.4 million in the bank. Walker is the frontrunner by a wide margin in the GOP primary and narrowly leads Warnock in the latest Quinnipiac University poll.
Arizona's Mark Kelly, the former astronaut who won a special election in 2020 to serve out the final two years of the late Senator John McCain's term, has $18.6 million in the bank after raising $8.9 million in the fourth quarter. Kelly raised $29.2 million in 2021, more than all the Republican candidates seeking to oppose him in November combined.
Three of those Republicans topped $1 million in donations in 2021, but will have to spend that money battling each other in the primary before they can take on Kelly. Arizona businessman Jim Lamon, who's loaned his campaign $8 million, closed out the year with $5.9 million cash on hand, making him top among Republicans. Attorney General Mark Brnovich, the only GOP candidate in the race who's won a statewide election, has struggled with donors. He raised $812,000 in the fourth quarter and had $768,000 cash on hand. Blake Masters, who has the backing of billionaire Peter Thiel, reported raising $1.6 million and ended 2021 with $1.8 million.
One of the most endangered incumbent senators, Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto raised $3.4 million. Her $10.5 million cash on hand dwarfed the $1.7 million Republican Adam Laxalt, the state's former attorney general.
In Pennsylvania, the race to succeed retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey features two well-funded Democrats and a crowded Republican field. Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, a Democrat and the top fundraiser overall, raised $2.7 million in the fourth quarter, ending it with $5.3 million cash on hand. Representative Conor Lamb, who flipped a Republican district in a 2018 special election, raised $1.4 million and has $3 million in the bank.
The Republican race includes some self-financing candidates. Celebrity physician Mehmet Oz raised $5.9 million after entering the race at the end of November, but $5.2 million of that came from his own pocket. Businessman Jeff Bartos had $2.5 million in the bank after raising $456,200. Bartos has loaned his campaign $1.2 million. Carla Sands, who served as the ambassador to Denmark in the Trump administration has given her campaign $3.6 million and had $1.5 million cash on hand.
Former Bridgewater CEO David McCormick, who entered the race in January wasn't due to file a report.
Democrats also have the cash advantage in North Carolina, where Republican Richard Burr's retirement has left an open seat. Frontrunner Cheri Beasley, who served as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, had $2.8 million in the bank after raising $2.1 million in the fourth quarter. That was more money in the bank than any of the Republicans running.
Trump's endorsed candidate, Representative Ted Budd, raised $970,000 and ended the quarter with $2.2 million in the bank. Former governor Pat McCrory had $1.9 million after raising just $750,000. Former Representative Mark Walker raised $150,000 and had $570,000 cash on hand.
On the bright side for Republicans, Wisconsin incumbent Ron Johnson gave the GOP a boost in January, announcing he'd seek a third Senate term rather than stick to a promise to step down after two. Though Johnson wasn't a declared candidate in 2021, he continued raising money, taking in $710,000 in the fourth quarter and ending the year with $2.5 million cash on hand, tops among candidates in the field.
State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski raised $1.1 million and had $1.3 million in the bank at the end of December. Alex Lasry, the senior vice president of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team co-owned by his father, Avenue Capital's Marc Lasry, had $1.1 million in the bank after raising $2 million in the fourth quarter, the bulk of which, some $1.6 million, he loaned to his campaign. Mandela Barnes, the state's lieutenant governor, had $1.1 million in the bank after raising $1.1 million.
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