Analysis

Four things we learned from the latest House and Senate campaign finance filings


Congressional candidates filed their latest campaign finance reports last week, detailing their fundraising and expenditures between October 1 and December 31, 2019.

Here are some key numbers to know, based on an Issue One review of these new filings.

$1.4 million 

The median amount of money raised during the fourth quarter by a sitting senator running for reelection in 2020 was $1.4 million — the equivalent of about $15,300 per day. That’s nine times as much money as their colleagues who are not facing reelection this year, who typically raised $157,000 — about $1,700 per day. This is up from the third quarter, when the typical senator running for reelection raised $1.1 million ($12,200 per day) and other senators raised $139,000 ($1,500 per day). 

$65 million

Combined, all incumbent senators raised about $65 million from individuals, political action committees, and other sources between October and December. That’s an increase from the third quarter, when all senators combined to raise about $54 million. 

$201,000

The median amount of money raised during the fourth quarter by a member of the House of Representatives was approximately $201,000 — or about $2,200 per day. Meanwhile, the median amount raised by House freshmen was about $354,000 — or about $3,800 per day. The typical House incumbent running for reelection in a race rated as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report raised roughly $801,000 between October and December — about $8,700 per day, or about four times as much money as the typical House member. These numbers are generally up from the third quarter, when the typical House member raised $192,000 ($2,100 per day) and the typical House member in a toss-up race raised $529,000 ($5,750 per day).

$131 million 

Combined, all House members raised about $131 million from individuals, political action committees, and other sources between October and December. That’s an increase from the third quarter, when all House members combined to raise about $119 million.