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Republican House members facing down competitive races are raising more money, on average, than their Democratic incumbent counterparts, new fundraising reports show.
Democrats need a net gain of just five seats to take control of the House (assuming they hold a vacancy in a special election in Rhode Island's deep-blue 1st District later this year), and the new filings show that targeted Republicans are gathering resources for tough races.
The average House Republican in a race that the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rates as competitive raised $700,000 from April through June, and ended the quarter with $1.2 million on hand.
Meanwhile, the average House Democrat raised $444,000 in the second fundraising quarter, ending June with an average cash-on-hand total of $669,000.
Combined, all 34 Republicans in competitive races raised $23.8 million, ending the quarter with a combined $41 million left to spend. The 37 Democrats in competitive races raised a combined $16.9 million and had $25.4 million on hand.
California GOP Rep. Michelle Steel topped the list of House members in competitive races, bringing in more than $1.1 million. Steel and GOP Reps. Young Kim of California and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania all brought in more than $1 million. All three are among the 18 GOP House members running for re-election in districts, who are top Democratic targets next year.
The top-raising Democratic lawmaker in a competitive race was Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, who raised $840,000.