ATLANTA (AP) – The Democrats campaigning for the two United States Senate seats in Georgia have each raised more than $ 100 million in two months, a huge amount that overshadowed campaign contributions to their Republican opponents and the high stakes of the two games.
Jon Ossoff, who is up against Senator David Perdue, raised more than $ 106 million from Oct. 15 to Dec. 16, according to his latest campaign finance report. Raphael Warnock, who is trying to fire Senator Kelly Loeffler, was close with just over $ 103 million.
Perdue reported $ 68 million over the same two-month period, while Loeffler brought in just under $ 64 million. Three of the campaigns reported their financial details on Thursday. Loeffler filed hers the day before.
The two races will determine which party runs the senate – and likely how ambitious President-elect Joe Biden can be with his agenda.
If Republicans win one race, they will maintain a narrow majority and the chamber will serve as a bulwark against democratic law. But if the Democrats conduct both, the balance will be 50-50 – with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris voting a tie-breaker. That will likely allow Biden to set a more ambitious agenda, assuming he can keep fellow Democrats on board.
Georgia’s two second races got underway in November after Perdue and Loeffler got no more than 50 percent of the vote on election day. The early vote has already started for the January 5 elections.
“We are humbled by the support and generosity of the grassroots that continues to support Reverend Warnock’s campaign to represent all Georgians in the US Senate,” Jerid Kurtz, Warnock’s campaign manager, said in a statement.
Ossoff’s campaign said it was proud of the voter turnout. Loeffler’s campaign did not issue a statement. A text message to a Perdue spokesperson on Christmas Day was not immediately returned.
The fundraising figures far exceed the record-shattering $ 57 million that Democrat Jaime Harrison raised in a quarter in his attempt to fire US Senator Lindsey Graham in South Carolina in November. Harrison lost that race.
And that’s on top of the tens of millions of dollars spent on January’s drain by outside groups. Previous revelations about campaign funding for the Georgia races suggest that Republican outside groups have an advantage in raising funds.
The money has sparked a barrage of advertising and door-to-door investigations.
Ossoff and Warnock have already spent more than $ 179 million, according to their latest revelations. By December 16, they had about $ 40 million on hand for the campaigns’ homestretch.
Perdue and Loeffler have spent more than $ 106 million. They reported about $ 37 million available at the end of the reporting period.