Donald Trump’s political enemies are stuffing their war chest with record-breaking sums as the president’s ratings hamstring his party at the Nov. 3 midterms.
Two Democratic-aligned groups, the House Majority PAC and nonprofit House Majority Forward, raised $230 million between July and September alone, Punchbowl News reports. It marks their best-ever fundraising quarter, and brings their total for the current cycle to $514 million.
Democratic strategist Jon Cooper wrote in an X post on Thursday that the level of “donor enthusiasm” sends a “clear signal” that “Democrats are gearing up for a serious battle to win back the House in November.”
The fundraising surge comes as voters have turned against Trump and his party over the president’s war with Iran, soaring unaffordability, and a run of other scandals and controversies that have overshadowed his second stint at the White House.
An Ipsos poll released last month put Trump’s approval rating at just 32 percent, two points below where he stood after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot at the tail end of his first term and the lowest of his political career so far.
Only a third of voters approve of the president’s war with Iran, and just 17 percent say he has done a good job of handling the cost of living. Those numbers have helped Democrats gain a 9-point lead ahead of the November elections for control of the House and Senate, according to polling site Silver Bulletin.
The GOP still has a major fundraising advantage. Trump-allied Super PAC MAGA Inc. has brought in more than $424.4 million so far this cycle, while the Republican National Committee raised $316 million, Federal Election Commission data show.
But the party has also been forced to pour some of its riches into races that would not ordinarily have been competitive. Republican-aligned groups have set aside $888 million for advertising in more than three dozen House races that were previously considered “safe,” Reuters reports.
A particular drain has been Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton’s run against rising Democratic star James Talarico in deep-red Texas, where Republicans haven’t lost a statewide race in more than 30 years.
Strategists warned ahead of time that nominating Paxton, who has faced accusations of corruption and extramarital affairs, would mean spending between $200 million and $250 million to keep the seat out of Talarico’s hands.
GOP-aligned groups have since poured at least $131 million into backing Paxton, according to Axios, with just under five weeks left before voters head to the polls.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the Republican National Committee for comment on this story.
