(Sha Hanting/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

For many of the 31 House Democrats declaring victory last November in districts President Donald Trump won in 2016, the path to reelection in 2020 appears treacherous.

Some of them already face Republican challengers seeking to flip the districts in 2020. Some are the targets of impeachment-related attack ads launched by Republican groups. As the House sets course for a Thursday vote on formalizing the impeachment process, 23 of the 31 Democrats have lined up behind the probe.

Seeking to keep their seats in 2020, some of the most vulnerable Democrats are benefiting from the impeachment push and outraising their GOP challengers. The 31 Democrats are gaining the most support from three top industries: retirees, lawyers and investors.

Retirees, who often rank among the top givers among all industries, have combined to give the 31 Democrats $3.4 million ahead of 2020, 8 percent of the total $42.8 million they have raised so far in the cycle. Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.), who’s facing a toss-up race in a red-leaning district, received the most money from retirees, totalling $289,827. The South Carolina congressman, one of the few Democrat holdouts on the impeachment inquiry, said he prioritizes local issues over taking a stance on impeachment.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), one of the freshman Congress Democrats, received $197,200 from retirees. The Michigan congresswoman, who has now raised just shy of $2 million for her reelection campaign, was among the seven first-term Democrats urging Congress to impeach Trump in a Washington Post op-ed. The Republican National Committee later launched a $2 million TV ad blitz targeting dozens of Democrats, including Slotkin and her Michigan colleague Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), over their support for the impeachment inquiry.

Lawyers and law firm affiliates are also among the top industries giving to the 31 Democrats, doling out $2.8 million in support of their reelection run. Cunningham, a veteran attorney before his election, raked in $309,562 from the industry, surpassing all his Democratic colleagues in battleground districts.

Affiliates of South Carolina-based litigation firm Motley Rice LLC — Cunningham’s top contributor — gave his campaign $35,625, more than any other candidate the company gave to in 2020. The South Carolina Democrat also received $21,155 from partners at South Carolina-based law firm Nelson, Mullins et al. Former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who Trump tried to add to his personal legal team amid the Ukraine probe, works as a partner at Nelson Mullins.

Lawyers are leaning more liberal than ever in the industry’s history of political giving. In 2020, 81 percent of the industry’s contributions went to Democratic candidates.

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Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.), another of the many Democrats hit by an RNC-sponsored TV ad, is also among the industry’s favorite Democrats. Delgado’s campaign received $235,073 from the industry, including $67,145 from affiliates of lobbying powerhouse Akin, Gump et al, where Delgado worked as a litigator before joining Congress.

The lobbying firm was also the top contributor to Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), giving his campaign $29,100. Gottheimer has outraised all 31 Democrats by hauling in $2.5 million thus far during the 2020 election cycle. The New Jersey Democrat, who defended his seat in the Trump-won district in 2018, was listed in February as one of 55 targets by the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Gottheimer, a centrist Democrat who is the top recipient of hedge fund money, banked $465,030 from the securities and investment industry, which has delivered a total of $2.6 million to the 31 Democrats ahead of 2020.

Donald Sussman, founder of investment firm Paloma Partners, shelled out $7.7 million to Democrats and liberal groups during the election cycle. The hedge fund executive maxed out to several vulnerable Democrats, including Reps. Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.) and Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.). Sussman also injected $2 million into the House Majority PAC to support Democrats in congressional races.

Securities and investment industry is the top industry giving to Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), who joined Slotkin and five other freshman Democrats in the September op-ed calling for impeachment. The Virginia Democrat received $145,560 from affiliates of investment firms, such as Bain Capital.

The battleground district Democrats also gathered support from leadership PACs and liberal groups, which combined to shell out $3.5 million to boost their campaigns. Leadership PACs, a common way congressional members use to solicit extra cash from donors already maxed out to their campaigns, brought in $1.8 million for the 31 Democrats during the 2020 election cycle.

Many of the 31 Democrats facing toss-up races received a $10,000 boost from PAC to the Future, a leadership PAC run by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) received $115,000 from leadership PACs, the most among all Trump-won district Democrats. She banked $5,000 from CherPAC, a leadership PAC run by Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), who leads the House Democrats’ campaign arm.

Researcher Alex Baumgart contributed to the report.



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