Over the past three months, and with Election Day just around the corner, congressional candidates faced pressure to fill their campaign coffers.
All federal candidates filed new campaign finance reports last week, which detailed their fundraising and expenditures between July 1 and September 30.
Here are some key numbers to know, based on an Issue One review of these new filings.
$2.6 million
The median amount of money raised during the third quarter by a sitting senator running for reelection in 2020 was $3.1 million — the equivalent of about $33,700 per day. That’s 13 times as much money as their colleagues who are not facing reelection this year, who typically raised $240,000 — about $2,600 per day. This was a massive increase from the second quarter of 2020, when the typical senator running for reelection raised $2 million ($21,600 per day) and other senators raised $127,000 ($1,400 per day). Put another way, the typical senator running for reelection this year raised more than 50% more during the third quarter than they did during the second quarter.
$215 million
Combined, all incumbent senators raised about $215 million from individuals, political action committees, and other sources between July and September. That was more than double the $105 million raised by incumbent senators during the second quarter of 2020.
$270,000
The median amount of money raised between July and September by a member of the House of Representatives was approximately $270,000 — or about $2,900 per day. Meanwhile, the median amount raised by House freshmen was about $673,000 — or about $7,300 per day. The typical House incumbent running for reelection in a race rated as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report raised roughly $1.4 million during the third quarter — about $15,700 per day, or more than five times as much money as the typical House member. Notably, the typical House incumbent running for reelection in a toss-up race this year raised nearly 70% more during the third quarter than they did during the second quarter.
$245 million
Combined, all House members raised about $245 million from individuals, political action committees, and other sources between July and September. That was a huge increase from the second quarter of 2020, when all House members combined to raise about $146 million.
