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Senate Democrats face a challenging map in 2024, and vulnerable incumbents are starting to build up their campaign coffers ahead of those tough races, new campaign fundraising reports show.
The six Senate Democrats facing tough races per the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter pulled in a combined $14 million during the first three months of the year, and had a combined $35.7 million on hand as of March 31, per the reports, which were filed Saturday with the Federal Election Commission.
On average, the six Democrats raised $2.3 million and ended the quarter with more than $5.9 million on hand.
On top of that, Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin raised nearly $3.1 million in the open Michigan Senate race, ending the quarter with $2.3 million in her account.
West Virginia’s Joe Manchin is the only Senate Democrat in a competitive race who has not yet said if he’s running for re-election. That could explain his relatively small fundraising haul — he raised just $371,000.
But Manchin's campaign had the most money in its account than any of the other vulnerable senators, ending the quarter with $9.7 million. GOP Rep. Alex Mooney, who launched a Senate run in West Virginia last year, raised $505,000 and ended the quarter with nearly $1.4 million on hand.
Montana’s Jon Tester raised the most of the vulnerable Senate Democrats, bringing in $5 million and ending March with $7 million on hand. He does not yet have a high-profile GOP opponent, but two GOP House members weighing Senate runs paled in comparison. GOP Rep. Ryan Zinke raised $571,000 while GOP Rep. Matt Rosendale raised just $127,000.
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown’s fundraising was nearly matched by an early GOP challenger, state Sen. Matt Dolan, thanks to Dolan’s ability to spend his own money on the race. Dolan loaned his campaign $3 million in the first quarter, bringing his total to $3.3 million, while Brown raised $3.6 million.
In Arizona, independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat, has not yet announced if she’s running for re-election. Despite raising $2.1 million, she was outraised by Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who pulled in $3.7 million.
The only Republican in a competitive race, per the Cook Political Report, is Florida Sen. Rick Scott. He raised $914,000 and ended the quarter with $2.8 million on hand.