GOP Strapped for Cash

The Republican Party has looked increasingly strong heading into election season, with a string of Democratic retirements and a rising tide of anti-incumbent resentment leading some to predict they might retake Congress. But there's still a major obstacle to a wave of victories: cash. Despite the party's rise in the polls, they lag the Democrats tremendously, Politico reports. Democrats have raised $442,885,585 since January 2009, versus $255,000,681 for the GOP. A study of House elections in 2008 by the Campaign Finance Institute found that the average win cost $1.4 million, meaning Republican House candidates would need $84 million for their elections—less than half of what's been raised so far.