The Democrat and Republican political machines spent over $1 billion on the top five Senate races this midterm cycle, according to data from Open Secrets.
The parties, candidates and their affiliated political PACs spent $312,131,203 in Pennsylvania; $254,668,614 in Georgia; $202,332,538 in Arizona; $186,750,730 in Nevada, and $185,811,066 in Wisconsin. The spending adds up to a staggering total of $1,141,694,151.
Pennsylvania and Georgia in particular have received stunning amounts of media attention. Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz are facing each other down in a toss-up race in the former, while Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-GA, and Republican Herschel Walker are also virtually tied in the latter.
Republicans are widely expected to secure control of the House of Representatives, but control of the Senate is anyone’s game.
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Meanwhile, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy’s political machine raked in $500 million throughout the cycle through both his campaign and various allied PACs. The cash was disseminated to Republican candidates across the country.
“The one thing you always have to remember is majorities are not given — they’re earned,” McCarthy told Fox News Digital last week. “We never take anything for granted, but I feel good because of the quality of the candidates we have running from Rhode Island to New Hampshire to Connecticut to Oregon to Washington to Arizona to California.”
“There is no place we can’t compete and that’s what is exciting,” he added.
McCarthy and the Republicans centered their campaign on the economy, inflation and President Biden’s personal unpopularity, and pre-election polls showed most Americans favored the strategy.
Biden and the Democrats had gambled on making abortion the central issue of the midterms following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Polling suggests the issue faded in importance to voters in the face of worsening economic issues.