NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! With just over three weeks until Election Day, more and more red states and congressional districts appear to be within reach of Democrats as they work to recapture Republican majorities in the House and Senate in the midterm elections. But a huge Republican spending advantage threatens to complicate those ambitions. Republican-aligned campaigns, committees and groups have outspent their Democratic counterparts by $400 million so far this election cycle, according to AdImpact, a leading political advertising tracking company. The disparity is forcing Democrats to make difficult decisions about where to invest and how much to spend as the party tries to expand the electoral map. “Republicans are spending more on us. That’s just a fact,” said Lauren French. communications director for the Senate Majority PAC, told Fox News Digital. “In a lot of these states, they’ve really transactionalized the elections, so they have monopoly money to play with, while we’re working with real resources.” DEMOCRATS THINK A BLUE WAVE IS ALIEN: HERE ARE THREE FACTORS THAT COULD STOP IT Fox News Power Rankings on Senate Forecast. (Remy Numa/Fox News) The latest Fox News Power Rankings moved GOP-dominated South Carolina from Strong to Likely Republican. The Senate matchup in reliably Republican Kansas is Republican, while races in red-leaning Alaska, Iowa, Ohio and Texas are up for grabs. “The Senate Majority PAC has the resources to compete, and we are very happy to be able to be in 9 battleground states,” French said. The super PAC is the main outside group supporting Democratic Senate candidates and incumbents and is aligned with longtime Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer. “French highlighted the record-breaking fundraising over the past three months, but added that “of course, more recess resources would be helpful.” With the latest polls from Fox News and other organizations showing Democrats becoming more competitive across the Senate map, the party is asking for more money. “Last month, a pro-Trump PAC set aside $10 million in advertising in New Hampshire, and they’re outspending us 3 to 1,” reads a fundraising speech aimed at to his supporters by Rep. Chris Pappas, the Democratic Senate candidate in the swing state of New Hampshire. WHO’S IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS MID-TERM POWER RANKINGS Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, the Democratic Senate candidate, speaks at a state party event, October 3, 2026 in Concord, NH (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)The Senate Majority PAC is rushing part of its record fundraising in newly competitive battlegrounds and American Bridge PAC, a Democratic-aligned group, recently pumped in more than $20 million into South Carolina and Kansas, as well as competitive races in two other red states, Florida and Mississippi. But Democratic groups are being outspent by their Republican-aligned counterparts, thanks to major spending by the Senate Leadership Fund, MAGA Inc., an ally of President Donald Trump, and a super PAC funded by Elon Musk. the time in the campaign season when everyone really has to make some of those belt-tightening decisions, and that’s why we’re looking at each race very closely to make sure we have enough resources to reach the majority, but we also won’t leave anyone disappointed.” House Democrats face a similar situation. A Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) memo shared with donors warned that Republicans are “now flooding districts in our battleground with MAGA Inc. money. and Trump’s super PAC that we simply can’t match.” DEMOCRACY ’26: KEEP UP TO DATE WITH FOX NEWS ELECTION CENTER Fox News Power Forecast House Rankings (Remy Numa/Fox News) The memo, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, requested an additional $17 million needed by Oct. 22 “to close the sale” on what they described “careers that can be win.” The Republican Party is fighting political history, which has traditionally seen the party in power in Washington lose congressional seats during midterm election years. Add to that a challenging political climate fueled by persistent inflation that Americans see in grocery stores, high gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump’s negative approval ratings. “The SLF will continue to invest unprecedented resources across the map to maintain the Republican majority in the Senate,” Chris said Gustafson, communications director for the Senate Leadership Fund, told Fox News Digital. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP Veteran Republican strategist Jesse Hunt told Fox News Digital that “outside Republican groups will have been instrumental in the positive Republican performance if they have a good election night despite the strong headwinds facing them.” Hunt emphasized. Paul Steinhauser covers the national campaign from coast to coast for Fox News.
