With less than three weeks until Election Day, the Senate landscape of competitive races has expanded into deep-red territory, where new filings show Democratic candidates dominating their Republican opponents in fundraising. 

According to third-quarter reports spanning July to September, Democratic Senate hopefuls once again reported massive fundraising hauls as the party seeks to win control of the chamber next month. That could help the candidates compete against the cash advantage of Republican outside groups, which have flooded the airwaves with advertisements over the past month.

Kansas, which last elected a Democrat to the Senate nearly a century ago, is perhaps the most surprising state to have joined the inner confines of the Senate battleground. Democrat Adam Hamilton, the pastor of the nation’s largest United Methodist church, reported raising $9.9 million through his campaign account, vastly outraising Republican incumbent Roger Marshall, whose third quarter haul was $866,000. Hamilton entered October with $3.2 million banked, according to his Federal Election Commission filing, compared with Marshall’s $922,000.

South Carolina Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to the role in July after the sudden death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, won the GOP nomination in August after a hard-fought primary to replace him on the ballot. She reported raising $1.8 million since launching her campaign on July 23 and had $610,000 on hand at the end of September.

But her Democratic challenger, Annie Andrews, pulled in $9.4 million in the third quarter and had $2.3 million on hand as of Sept. 30. 

Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales shifted the ratings of both the Kansas and South Carolina races in Democrats’ favor Thursday. The Marshall-Hamilton contest is now rated Tilt Republican, while the South Carolina race is rated Lean Republican.

Meanwhile, Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts reported raising $2.2 million during the three-month period, which included $1 million the wealthy scion contributed to his campaign. That’s still about half of the nearly $4.1 million brought in by independent Dan Osborn, Ricketts’ main opponent after the Democratic nominee dropped out after endorsing Osborn. The challenger also closed the quarter with more cash in his coffers: $2.2 million compared with Ricketts’ $1.1 million.

Inside Elections rates the race Lean Republican.

Historically, candidates for Congress have been able to purchase television advertising at preferred rates, which in recent years have benefited Democratic money magnets running for office. But the Supreme Court earlier this year struck down restrictions on how much political parties could spend in coordination with campaigns. While super PACs still pay higher rates for TV ads, the ruling has allowed the party campaign committees more leeway to coordinate with candidates on advertising, helping cash-heavy Republican Party entities in the process. 

And while Democratic candidates have mostly outraised their Republican opponents heading into the final weeks of the campaign, big spending by GOP outside groups has helped blunt that advantage in a political environment that appears to favor Democrats.

In Texas, for example, Democrat James Talarico’s campaign reported a third-quarter haul of $60.2 million, a figure Ohio GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno called “mind-blowing” while speaking to reporters Thursday on Capitol Hill. Talarico, who is trying to become the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Texas since 1988, also had $14.6 million on hand for the final weeks of the campaign. 

His Republican opponent, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, had his best fundraising quarter but didn’t come close to matching Talarico’s total. Paxton’s campaign reported raising $10.2 million, the highest for a Republican Senate candidate this quarter, and he began October with nearly $5 million banked.

But Paxton, who defeated Republican Sen. John Cornyn in a May primary runoff, has benefited from the millions poured into the race by GOP outside groups with ties to tech billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc.

Inside Elections changed that race's rating Thursday from Tilt Republican to Toss-up. 

Banked GOP strength

The only Democratic Senate nominee in a race rated competitive by Inside Elections to be outraised during the third quarter was Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who is vying to succeed retiring Democratic-Farmer-Labor Sen. Tina Smith. 

Flanagan reported a quarterly haul of $1.2 million, while Republican nominee Michele Tafoya brought in $1.7 million. Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter, also closed September with $2.1 million on hand to Flanagan’s $1.5 million. 

Tafoya was not the only Republican Senate nominee to wrap up the quarter with a bigger bank balance than the Democrat in the race. 

In Maine, longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins reported raising $5.2 million, barely over a quarter of the $20.4 million raised by Democrat Troy Jackson, who won the nomination at a July party convention after initial nominee Graham Platner dropped out.

But Collins maintained a cash advantage at the end of September, with $5.4 million on hand to Jackson’s nearly $4 million. 

Several other Republicans also had more cash banked heading into the campaign’s last weeks than Democratic opponents who reported massive third-quarter hauls. Those Republicans included Sens. Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Jon Husted of Ohio, Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson and former Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers.