James Talarico, a Texas Democratic primary candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during an event in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Brenda Bazan, File)2026-04-16T04:12:07Z Democrats are boasting of eye-popping fundraising hauls in some of this years top Senate contests, a potential sign of voter enthusiasm in what remains an uphill quest to win the Senate majority. In the first three months of the year, Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talaricos campaign said he brought in $27 million, while vulnerable incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia said he raised $14 million. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Coopers campaign said hell report $13.8 million and former Sen. Sherrod Brown will report $12.5 million in his comeback bid in Ohio. The money will help Democrats make their case to voters and counter Republican attacks, but it doesnt change the fundamental fact that control of the Senate will be decided in territory that favors Republicans. Except for Maine, where Democrats Graham Platner and Janet Mills are still battling for the partys nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, all of the top battleground races are in states President Donald Trump won in 2024. While Democrats touted their totals, they offer only a snapshot of overall fundraising, as campaigns had until the end of the day Wednesday to file with the Federal Election Commission. Republicans laggedIn races where Republicans had reported their fundraising by Tuesday evening, Democrats were far outpacing them. In Texas, incumbent Sen. Jon Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton who are locked in a bitter runoff for the GOP nomination raised $2.5 million combined, less than 10% of Talaricos revenue for the quarter. Two of the three main Republicans in Georgia Derek Dooley and Buddy Carter combined for about $1.1 million. The third, Mike Collins, had not yet reported his fundraising as of Wednesday evening. Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley raised $2.1 million in North Carolina and Sen. Jon Husted raised $2.9 million in Ohio. Read More Collins, a top target for Democrats, raised $3.1 million in Maine. Mills, the governor who is preferred by much of the Democratic establishment, said shell report raising $2.6 million, while Platner, an oyster farmer backed by progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders, said he raised $4 million. In Alaska, Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola said shell report raising $8.9 million, compared with $1.7 million for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. Money isnt everythingRepublicans said flush coffers dont guarantee victory. Retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina pointed out that his opponent in 2020 also celebrated successful fundraising quarters but didnt win. Democrats Beto ORourke in 2018 in Texas and Jaime Harrison in 2020 in South Carolina shattered fundraising records and still lost to their Republican rivals. We dont have to outraise them, Tillis said. We just got to out run them.Theres an imbalance in Republicans favor at the national committee level. The Republican National Committee reported roughly $109 million cash on hand in its most recent FEC filing, compared with roughly $16 million for their Democratic counterpart, plus Democrats are carrying about $17 million in debt. Waiting in the wings for Republicans is a super political action committee tied to Trump MAGA Inc. which has more than $300 million cash on hand, according to the FEC. The rosy first-quarter contributions carry some advantages for Democrats, namely the ability to buy limited advertising slots ahead of the election to get on the air early and make an impression with voters. Candidates also get favorable rates for television ads so their money goes further than independent expenditures by outside groups, though that advantage is eroding as ad spending increasingly shifts toward digital streaming. Winning in Texas will require unprecedented resources, Talarico campaign manager Seth Krasne said in a statement. This grassroots fundraising haul puts our movement in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country.Talarico will face the winner of the GOP runoff on May 26 between Cornyn and Paxton.___Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report. MIKE CATALINI Catalini covers government, elections and news primarily in New Jersey for The Associated Press. He focuses on accountability and how policy affects people. twitter JONATHAN J. COOPER Cooper is a national politics reporter based in Phoenix. He previously covered news and politics in Arizona, California and Oregon. mailto