By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Every Democrat trying to represent New Jersey in the U.S. House can make this claim: They have raised more money than their Republican opponents.

It's true in all four competitive Republican-held seats that could be lost in a blue wave in this midterm election seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump.

It's true in the seven Democratic-held seats, none of which are in danger of flipping.

And it's even true in Rep. Chris Smith's district, where he has raised $1 million for the first time in his 20 House races but still trails Democratic challenger Josh Welle.

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President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks at an October rally in Southaven, Miss. (AP Photo | Rogelio V. Solis)

The Democratic fundraising prowess provided another indication that the party's chances of reclaiming the House on Nov. 6 is real. Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight put the odds of that happening at 5 in 6 and the Democrats favored to win those four competitive GOP-held seats in the Garden State.

Figures cover the period Jan. 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2018.

Here's what they reported.

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A brand new campaign cash record

Former Navy pilot and federal prosecutor Mikie Sherrill did what no one has ever done before in New Jersey congressional race: Raise more than $7 million.

She smashed Rep Josh Gottheimer's $4.8 million fundraising record set in 2016, and even had more money to spend than the $5.7 million Rep. Tom MacArthur had in 2014, when he wrote himself a $5 million check.

Sherrill raised $2.8 million just in the last three months, more than almost every other New Jersey House candidate raised for their entire campaigns. That allowed her to air $2.4 million worth of campaign commercials from July to September.

“I am humbled by the support our campaign has received as we head into the final month of this race,” Sherrill said.

She entered October with $2.7 million to spend, more than double the amount state Assemblyman Jay Webber, R-Morris, raised for his entire campaign to succeed retiring Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-11th Dist.

Webber, who reported raising $1 million also will receive $74,127 from his 11th District fundraiser from Vice President Mike Pence and an unspecified amount from the recent event in Washington with Pence. Trump contributed $2,000 from his presidential campaign committee.

He reported $625,571 in the bank, but his latest form did not include any campaign expenditures in the last three months. Campaign spokesman Harrison Neely said that was an clerical error that was being corrected.

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Gov. Murphy bets against the Republican who calls diversity "a bunch of crap"

Political analysts say state Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, is likely to win the 2nd District seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd Dist.

So likely, in fact, that Van Drew is raising money like an incumbent. Of the $1.5 million he took in though Sept. 30, about one-third $535,200, came from political action committees such as AT&T ($2,000), Celgene Corp. ($1,000) and the American Hospital Association ($5,000). He entered October with $875,069 in the bank.

He also received $2,700 from both Gov. Phil Murphy and from John Wells, the former executive producer and head writer for "The West Wing" television show.

Republican Seth Grossman, whose campaign who was disowned by national Republicans after he shared a post from a white supremacist website calling blacks a "threat to all who cross their paths," reported $184,371 in donations and $3,000 personal loan. He had just $124,144 in the bank.

Grossman raised just $93,563 after the National Republican Congressional Committee pulled its endorsement. He earlier had come under fire for calling diversity "a bunch of crap."

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Gun control groups are split in this race

Former Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Tom Malinowski raised more money in the last three months, $2.2 million, than the $2.1 million Rep. Leonard Lance, R-7th Dist., took in during the entire campaign.

Lance had more than $1 million to spend entering October while Malinowski had $909,216.

The incumbent received $1,000 from Everytown for Gun Safety, largely funded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, which along with Giffords has endorsed Lance, one of only two House Republicans who opposed allowing mentally incompetent veterans to buy guns.

Another gun control group, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, recently endorsed Malinowski.

Lance, who has made his pro-Israel voting record an issue in the campaign, received $5,833 from the Republican Jewish Coalition. Malinowski got help from J Street, which raised $27,968 for his campaign.

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N.J.'s richest lawmaker opens his checkbook again

Tom MacArthur, the wealthiest member of the state's congressional delegation who spent $5 million of his own money his initial race in 2014, went back to his checkbook in September, lending his campaign $800,000.

Without it, he would have virtually no money to spend in the final month of the campaign. This way, he had $800,000 entering October. Democratic challenger Andy Kim, a former national security aide, had $1.1 million to spend.

MacArthur, who has supported Trump more often than any other member of the state's congressional delegation, received $2,000 from the president's campaign committee. A member of the House Financial Services Committee, he raised $3 of every $10 in PAC contributions during the last three months from industries that the panel oversees.

Kim set up a joint fundraising committee with his fellow New Jersey alum from President Barack Obama's administration, Malinowski, and brought in $61,000 from that effort. He also received $309,828 from the House Victory Project, a group of major Democratic donors that raised money for a group of challengers.

He got another boost when Change Now, a super PAC partially funded by the League of Conservation Voters and the House Democrats' own super PAC, began running more than $100,000 worth of radio ads attacking MacArthur on health care.

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This longtime lawmaker forced to raise $1 million for the first time

Rep. Chris Smith never had to raise a million dollars in any of his first 19 House races. Then he ran into Josh Welle.

Smith, R-4th Dist., broke the seven-figure barrier or the first time, but so did Welle, a Navy veteran and business executive, who brought in $1.4 million. The incumbent entered October with more money to spend than the challenger, $644,665 to $335,161.

One of the few House Republicans who supports organized labor, Smith received $35,000 from union PACs during the last three months, almost half of his $71,950 in PAC donations. He also received the endorsement of a gun control group, the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence.

Welle was helped by progressive veterans organizations. The Serve America Victory Fund of Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., raised $50,574 for him and VoteVets' PAC contributed $5,000.

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Don Adams and Barbara Feldon on "Get Smart."

Would you believe how much this rookie congressman has raised?

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., was the most prolific fundraiser among House Democratic incumbents in New Jersey, with donors including actress Barbara Feldon, best known as Agent 99 on the 1960s sitcom "Get Smart," who gave a series of small donations that added up to $805.

Like MacArthur, Gottheimer took advantage of his position on the House Financial Services Committee; of the $313,000 in PAC contributions he raised from July 1 to Sept. 30, about one-third, or $107,500, came from industries that the panel oversees.

His Republican opponent, John McCann, general counsel to the New Jersey Sheriffs Association, lent himself $328,620, more than what he managed to raise in campaign donations.

Gottheimer entered October with $5.1 million to spend while McCann had $32,544. No wonder Gottheimer is a strong favorite to win re-election in a district that had been in Republican hands for 84 years before he ousted Rep. Scott Garrett two years ago.

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Dems REALLY dominate these races

While their Republican challengers have been able to raise a little bit of money, these House Democratic incumbents can worry more about helping their fellow Democrats rather then their own campaigns.

Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist., contributed $55,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the last three months and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-9th Dist., in line to chair the House Energy and Commerce Committee if the Democrats win back the majority, gave $38,000.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-12th Dist. gave $2,000 apiece to Kim, Welle, Malinowski and Sherrill. The only black representing New Jersey in the U.S. House, she also contributed to the gubernatorial campaigns of Andrew Gillum in Florida and Stacy Abrams in Georgia, each vying to become the first African American chief executive of their states.

Rep. Albio Sires, D-8th Dist., contributed $1,000 to the fifth House Democratic challenger, Van Drew.

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These Democrats have more than 99.9 percent chance of winning

Not only are they running in districts that heavily favor Democratic candidates, but Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th Dist., and Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist., are facing Republican challengers who haven't reported raising any money.

No wonder Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight gave them better than a 99.9 percent chance of winning a new term in November.

Pascrell raised $1.5 million through Sept. 30 and had $1.6 million in the bank. He gave $75,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the last three months and $21,000 to individual Democrats running for the House.

Payne raised $488.459 and reported cash on hand of $93,418.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.