While the spread of coronavirus has upended the lives of Americans across the country and changed the nature of campaigns, congressional candidates are still facing pressure to fill their campaign coffers. Last week, all candidates filed new campaign finance reports, detailing their fundraising and expenditures between January 1 and March 31, 2020.
Here are some key numbers to know, based on an Issue One review of these new filings.
$1.3 million
The median amount of money raised during the first quarter by a sitting senator running for reelection in 2020 was $1.3 million — the equivalent of about $14,300 per day. That’s nearly ten times as much money as their colleagues who are not facing reelection this year, who typically raised $132,000 — about $1,500 per day. This is in line with the fourth quarter of 2019, when the typical senator running for reelection raised $1.4 million ($15,300 per day) and other senators raised $157,000 ($1,700 per day).
$79 million
Combined, all incumbent senators raised about $79 million from individuals, political action committees, and other sources between January and March. That’s an increase from the fourth quarter of 2019, when all senators combined to raise about $65 million.
$193,000
The median amount of money raised between January and March by a member of the House of Representatives was approximately $193,000 — or about $2,100 per day. Meanwhile, the median amount raised by House freshmen was about $382,000 — or about $4,200 per day. The typical House incumbent running for reelection in a race rated as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report raised roughly $750,000 during the first quarter — about $8,200 per day, or about four times as much money as the typical House member.
$138 million
Combined, all House members raised about $138 million from individuals, political action committees, and other sources between January and March. That’s an increase from the fourth quarter of 2019, when all House members combined to raise about $131 million.
How much pressure are legislators under to raise campaign cash? Lots.
