Politics

Vulnerable Dems Head Into 2018 Races With Record Low War Chests

REUTERS/Larry Downing

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Phillip Stucky Political Reporter
Font Size:

Vulnerable Democrats are going into the 2018 electoral season with record low war chests, according to a Monday report from Politico Playbook.

High-profile Democrat Sens. Claire McCaskill and Jon Tester both have very low amounts of campaign cash on hand, but they hope to channel Democratic anger against President Donald Trump to ensure they are able to have a competitive campaign against strong Republican opposition.

McCaskill announced she feels she will need $200 million in donations and outside aid in order to keep her seat, and Tester announced he thinks a win in Missouri would take $150 million. MsCaskill has $781,000 in cash reserves, while Tester is somewhat better prepared with $1.5 million in cash reserves ahead of the 2018 season.

Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball recently rated Tester’s race as a “toss-up,” meaning it promises to be one of the most competitive Senate races in 2018. McCaskill’s race isn’t rated a toss-up, but the incumbent Senator is still vulnerable. Montana was rated as a “leans Democratic” seat, indicating that McCaskill had a greater than even chance of winning, but it would still be a hard race.

Overall, the Senate map is very difficult for Democrats. Three of the toss-up races are currently held by Democrats and the majority of open races will be Democrats defending their seat. Senators to the left of the aisle nationwide are suffering from a lack of campaign funds. The best-funded Democrats are currently in relatively safe races, but no one has greater than $5 million on hand.

The average winning Senate campaign cost about $10.5 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, but overall spending could get much, much higher. Florida’s Senate race was the most expensive in electoral history, with nearly $64 million in spending between Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Patrick Murphy.

Although key Democratic candidates don’t have the funds to run their races yet, there was been a huge outpouring of funds towards Democratic causes. The American Civil Liberties Union received nearly $20 million during the month of February, nearly 4 times its yearly operating budget.

Democrats also funneled $4.4 million to Jon Ossoff towards the Georgia special election race.

Follow Phillip On Twitter

Have a Tip? Let us Know

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.