Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) reportedly called on congressional Republicans this week to step up their fundraising efforts ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, where Democrats are hoping to make major gains in the House.

Ryan told GOP lawmakers in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday that they need to work harder on fundraising to stave off Democratic challengers, Politico reported, after news that Democrats outraised more than 40 incumbent GOP candidates in the last three months of 2017.

Ryan, who leads the party's 238-seat majority, reportedly gave a stern reprimand to the lawmakers over the fundraising disparities, and told them to seek help from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) if needed, according to Politico.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Speaker's comments come from a point of authority, after raising $44 million in campaign funds in 2017, a new record for fundraising in a year without a major election.

Ryan's team said last month that it would transfer $32 million of the total to the NRCC in advance of the 2018 elections.

The NRCC's deputy chairman, Rep. Tom Emmer Thomas (Tom) Earl EmmerHouse Democrats' campaign arm reserves .6M in ads in competitive districts The Hill's Convention Report: Trump to attack Biden at final night of convention | Speech comes amid hurricane, racial justice protests | Biden accuses Trump of 'rooting' for violence Republicans cast Trump as best choice for women MORE (R-Minn.), reportedly called out individual Republicans in the meeting Wednesday who have fallen behind their Democratic challengers, and noted that in many cases the money disparity has hurt their projected chances of winning.

Many Democrats in key races backed by the party's House campaign arm are in better financial shape than their GOP opponents, as Democrats work to retake the majority in the House.