By Hastings Wyman
In today’s volatile political environment, the amount of money that candidates for Congress have raised and have on hand is a major indicator of what could happen in November.
In ten of Dixie’s districts, Democratic challengers already have war chests that suggest there will be competitive races in once safe Republican districts. In Virginia, three Republican US Representatives are facing well-funded Democratic challengers. US Rep. Tom Garrett (R) had $108,000 on hand in the latest Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports; four of his Democratic foes have more on hand than Garrett, and the total cash on hand for these four is $1,105,000.
In Virginia’s 7th District, US Rep. David Brat (R) has $470,000 on hand; his two major foes combined have $704,000. And US Rep. Barbara Comstock (R) in Virginia’s 10th District has an impressive $1,195,000 on hand, but her eight Democratic opponents have a total of $2,937,000.
Of course, much of this Democratic cash will be spent in contested primaries, but the large amounts of Democratic money in these districts is a sign that Ralph Northam’s (D) impressive victory in last year’s gubernatorial election could be replicated in several in several of the state’s congressional districts.
Other Republican incumbents facing Democrats with large bank accounts include Florida’s Daniel Webster (R), with a mere $53,000 on hand to former US Rep. Alan Grayson’s $556,000. In Georgia, US Reps. Rob Woodall (R) and Barry Loudermilk (R) will also face well-funded Democratic challenges.
There is one Democrat facing substantial GOP money, and that’s former Democratic National chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. She has $390,000 on hand; Joe Kaufman (R), one of her foes, has $389,000, and another Carlos Reyes, has $58,000. Her district is heavily Democratic, but she will probably have to work a little harder given the amount of cash her challengers are raising.
North Carolina’s Republican members of Congress are facing very large Democratic war chests, many exceeding the incumbents’ cash on hand. And Oklahoma has a large number of contested Republican primaries.
This report covers 27 congressional districts in the South; all incumbents are marked with an asterisk.
Next week, SPR will look at another 27 districts, all in Texas, where the money indicates competitive races. The Lone Star State has primaries on March 6.
In some districts where competitive races are likely to develop, candidates have not yet filed with the FEC. Moreover, it’s early and candidates in both parties have a lot of time to raise more money. Finally, the candidate with the most money does not always win. National trends, hot-button issues and how voters perceive a candidate all play important roles. Stay tuned.
District/candidates Cash on hand
AL 2: Martha Roby/R* $569,000
Barry Moore/R 25,000
Tabitha Isner/D 61,000
AR 2: French Hill/R* $1,300,000
Paul Spencer/D 128,000
FL 6/OPEN: John Ward/R $644,000
Nancy Soderberg/D 376,000
FL 7: Stephanie Murphy/D* 973,000
Scott Sturgill/R 266,000
Mike Miller/R 185,000
FL 11: Daniel Webster/R* $53,000
Alan Grayson/D 556,000
FL 16: Vern Buchanan/R* $2,201,000
David Shapiro/D 192,000
FL 18: Brian Mast/R* $1,039,000
Lauren Baer/D 415,000
Pam Keith/D 56,000
FL 23: D. Wasserman Schultz/D* $390,000
Joe Kaufman/R 389,000
Carlos Reyes/R 58,000
FL 26: Carlos Curbelo/R* $1,695,000
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell/D 317,000
FL 27/OPEN
David Richardson/D $858,000
Matthew Haggman/D 750,000
Mary Barzee Flores/D 339,000
Jose Javier Rodriguez/D 327,000
Ken Russell/D 325,000
Bruno Barreiro/R 213,000
GA 6: Karen Handel/R $573,000
Bobby Kaple/D 232,000
Kevin Abel/D 154,000
GA 7: Rob Woodall/R* $406,000
Kim David/D 223,000
Ethan Pham/D 166,000
Carolyn Bourdeaux/D 138,000
GA 8: Barry Loudermilk/R* $280,000
William Llop/R 232,000
KY 6: Andy Barr/R* $1,611,000
Amy McGrath/D 656,000
James Gray/D 324,000
LA 3: Clay Higgins/R* $51,000
Joshua Guillory/R 47,000
NC 2: George Holding/R* $388,000
Ken Romley/D 304,000
Sam Searcy/D 85,000
NC 3: Charles Jones/R* $100,000
Scott Dacey/R 224,000
NC 9: Robert Pittenger/R* $313,000
Mark Harris/R 222,000
Daniel McCready/D 931,000
NC 13: Theodore Budd/R* $300,000
Kathy Manning/D 522,000
OK 1/OPEN
Kevin Hern/R 376,000
Andy Coleman/R 75,000
Tim Harris/R 68,000
Nathan Dahm/R 41,000
OK 2: Markwayne Mullin/R* $434,000
John McCarthy/R 104,000
Jarrin Jackson/R 51,000
OK 5: Steve Russell/R* $253,000
Kendra Horn/D 75,000
Tom Guild/D 33,000
SC 1: Mark Sandford/R* $1,573,000
Katie Arrington/R 206,000
Joe Cunningham/R 98,000
SC 5: Ralph Norman/R* 101,000
Archie Parnell/R 236,000
TN 2/OPEN
Jimmy Matlock/R $220,000
Tim Burchett/R 207,000
Jason Emert/R 116,000
TN 6/OPEN
John Rose/R $694,000
Judd Matheny/R 35,000
TN 7/OPEN
Mark Green/R $581,000
Justin Kanew/D 105,000
Matt Reel/D 33,000
VA 5: Tom Garrett/R* $108,000
Roger Dean Huffstetler/D 474,000
Leslie Cockburn/D 383,000
Ben Cullop/D 126,000
Andrew Sneathern/D 122,000
VA 6/OPEN:
Ben Cline/R $78,000
Cynthia Dunbar/R 54,000
VA 7: David Brat/R* $470,000
Daniel Ward/D 415,000
Abigail Spanberger/D 289,000
VA 10: Barbara Comstock/R* $1,195,000
Alison Friedman/D 687,000
Julien Modica/D 548,000
Daniel Helmer/D 483,000
Jennifer Wexton/D 474,000
Lindsey Stover/D 414,000
Paul Pelletier/D 184,000
Deep Sran/D 93,000
Julia Biggins/D 54,000