(L-R) U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images)

Super PACs directly tied to congressional party leaders are amassing huge war chests in anticipation of a competitive and expensive November election.

The “big four” super PACs focused on congressional elections have a combined $181 million cash on hand. They had less than $34 million banked at this point in the 2016 election, indicating that wealthy donors are heavily invested in this year’s congressional contests.

The Democratic groups are outraising their Republican counterparts so far. Senate Majority PAC, affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), has raised $96 million this cycle compared to $55 million for Republicans’ Senate Leadership Fund. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) Congressional Leadership Fund trails Democrats’ House Majority PAC by about $11 million.

Senate Majority PAC raised $35 million over the last three months, while the Senate Leadership Fund raised $26 million. House Majority PAC outraised the Congressional Leadership Fund $8 million to $5.4 million over the three-month period.

These figures can change quickly, as super PACs rely heavily on multi-million dollar cash infusions from wealthy donors. Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, the top all-time GOP donor, has yet to make a contribution to these groups, but he is reportedly expected to give over $100 million to Republican efforts this cycle. Democratic donors like Michael Bloomberg and George Soros have already given millions to party-aligned super PACs but are expected to give more.

Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, one of the many GOP donors advising President Donald Trump on reopening the economy, gave a total of $12.5 million to the congressional Republican groups last quarter. “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane gave $1 million to Senate Majority PAC and carpenters union-funded super PAC Working for Working Americans funneled $2 million to each of the Democratic groups in March.

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Democratic super PACs rely heavily on wealthy donors and unions, but they are also boosted by rare small donor support. Senate Majority PAC has received $9.5 million from small donors this cycle while the Republican groups get next to nothing from those giving $200 or less.

With the coronavirus pandemic preventing campaign staffers and volunteers from canvassing in person, these unlimited spending groups might prove more useful in swaying undecided voters.

Groups battling for the Senate have already reserved millions in television advertising. Senate Majority PAC announced it would spend $70 million in five states it sees as the most competitive, including North Carolina ($25.6 million), Arizona ($15.7 million), Iowa ($13.1 million), Maine ($9.6 million) and Colorado ($5.2 million). Aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate Leadership Fund announced it would invest $56.3 million into those states, plus another $10.8 million in Kentucky.

The Congressional Leadership Fund said it would spend at least $43 million this fall to target vulnerable House Democrats, who currently enjoy a significant fundraising edge over their Republican challengers.

Both sides are expected to air messages related to the coronavirus pandemic. Since Trump declared a national emergency on March 13, Democrats have booked $82 million primarily on healthcare-focused ad buys slated for this fall. Trump’s preferred super PAC, America First Action, recently launched ads attacking presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden for criticizing Trump’s travel restrictions on those in China amid the outbreak.

Super PACs are supposed to be independent of campaigns and party committees, but these groups abuse loopholes to work with party forces to boost their preferred congressional candidates. They’re also using loopholes to keep their donors secret. OpenSecrets found that “dark money” entities funneled over $65 million into these super PACs in 2019 alone.



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