Four things we learned from the latest House and Senate campaign finance filings

Congressional candidates filed their latest campaign finance reports last week, detailing their fundraising and expenditures between October 1 and December 31, 2019.

Here are some key numbers to know, based on an Issue One review of these new filings.

$1.4 million 

The median amount of money raised during the fourth quarter by a sitting senator running for reelection in 2020 was $1.4 million — the equivalent of about $15,300 per day. That’s nine times as much money as their colleagues who are not facing reelection this year, who typically raised $157,000 — about $1,700 per day. This is up from the third quarter, when the typical senator running for reelection raised $1.1 million ($12,200 per day) and other senators raised $139,000 ($1,500 per day). 

$65 million

Combined, all incumbent senators raised about $65 million from individuals, political action committees, and other sources between October and December. That’s an increase from the third quarter, when all senators combined to raise about $54 million. 

$201,000

The median amount of money raised during the fourth quarter by a member of the House of Representatives was approximately $201,000 — or about $2,200 per day. Meanwhile, the median amount raised by House freshmen was about $354,000 — or about $3,800 per day. The typical House incumbent running for reelection in a race rated as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report raised roughly $801,000 between October and December — about $8,700 per day, or about four times as much money as the typical House member. These numbers are generally up from the third quarter, when the typical House member raised $192,000 ($2,100 per day) and the typical House member in a toss-up race raised $529,000 ($5,750 per day).

$131 million 

Combined, all House members raised about $131 million from individuals, political action committees, and other sources between October and December. That’s an increase from the third quarter, when all House members combined to raise about $119 million.