House Republicans’ midterm silver lining: Money
From POLITICO:
Although Democratic candidates for Senate are mostly out-fundraising their Republican opponents, Republican candidates for House are keeping pace with their opponents in key battleground districts. Republicans have expanded their digital fundraising efforts, an area where Democrats have traditionally held an advantage, and are taking advantage of joint fundraising agreements. These agreements allow Republican members with access to large donor networks, like House Speaker Mike Johnson, to raise money that ends up going to support vulnerable incumbents.
Dark Money Dominates Fund-Raising in the Virginia Referendum Vote
From The New York Times: The controversial redistricting referendum in Virginia saw massive amounts of campaign spending on both sides of the issue. Ahead of the election, almost all of that money came through dark money groups that were not required to disclose their donors. 96% of the money raised by the top 3 spending groups came from dark money sources, including $38 million from House Majority Forward, a nonprofit associated with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The largest Republican-aligned spending group, Virginians for Fair Maps, raised over $24 million, almost entirely from a nonprofit also named Virginians for Fair Maps.
AI becomes contentious issue in midterms over donations
From CNBC: Leading The Future, a major Super PAC backed by leading companies and executives in the AI industry, is set to announce that it raised $15 million so far in 2026, on top of the $125 million it has already raised. Among the many candidates of both parties it supports, it recently announced its endorsements of five House Democrats. The Tech Oversight Project, an anti-big tech advocacy group, along with several other progressive advocacy groups, have sent a letter to those five lawmakers asking them to disavow the endorsement.
House Republicans Clash with ActBlue as Investigation Intensifies
From The New York Times:
Republican lawmakers on the House Administration committee have been investigating ActBlue, the primary platform for online fundraising by Democratic candidates and committees, since 2023. Now the committee is asking the chief executive of ActBlue to testify on how the platform verifies the identity of donors it accepts. Republicans allege that ActBlue may have allowed contributions from foreign nationals, who are not permitted to donate to federal candidates or PACs.
