Candidates for federal office are getting ready to file their quarterly fundraising reports later this month — and there's a lot we're set to learn about presidential campaigns and a number of other political figures as they open the hood to the public.
Though the second quarter ended on June 30 (and began on April 1), candidates and committees have until midnight on July 15 to file their quarterly reports. Candidates might announce some information about their fundraising ahead of time, like how much they raised in the second quarter, but none of that can be verified until the official reports are filed.
Here's what we're watching as the filing deadline gets closer:
Presidential candidates
By the end of the first quarter of the year, just three prominent Republicans had announced their candidacies for president: former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
In that first quarter, Trump's primary campaign committee raised about $14.4 million, Haley's campaign raised $5.1 million and Ramaswamy took in $11.4 million, including a $10.25 million personal loan from Ramaswamy to his campaign.
Now, there are almost a dozen candidates in the field, and while money can't win a presidential primary, a lack of it can certainly end a campaign.
For all the candidates who announced their campaigns in the last three months — which includes former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — this quarter's filing will be the first real look at their campaign operations.
The reports will also give a glimpse at the campaign’s donor universe, the size of each campaign staff, and how much of their money is coming from major donors who can't give again because they already hit the maximum (and maybe even padded the total with dollars that can't be spent until a general election).
It’ll also provide the first verifiable peek at how candidates are doing in terms of qualifying for the first debate hosted by the Republican National Committee. Campaigns must have 40,000 individual, unique donors to make it on the stage, in addition to other stipulations.
And President Joe Biden will be filing his first campaign finance report as a candidate since launching his re-election campaign in April.
Vulnerable Senate incumbents
Six Democratic senators and one independent senator are defending their seats this year in expected battleground races.
Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (the independent, from Arizona), Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Joe Manchin of West Virginia are currently in races rated "Toss Up" by the non-partisan Cook Political Report.
Sinema and Manchin haven't announced yet whether they'll run for re-election, while Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are headed for competitive races.
Their filings this quarter could indicate whether donors are enthusiastic about Democrats' chances of keeping the Senate majority in 2024.
Many of the incumbent senators don't have Republican challengers yet, but for those who do, quarterly filings give an opportunity to compare fundraising hauls.
Competitive House races
House members and challengers typically raise less than candidates at the Senate and presidential level, but with just a net five seats standing between Democrats and the House majority, major fundraising could start early.
So far, Cook rates 25 House seats as "Toss Ups," with many of the Toss Up races featuring first-term lawmakers defending their seats for the first time.
We'll be looking to see how much each vulnerable House lawmaker raised and we may compare it to how much they raised in the second quarter of 2021, the same period last cycle.
