Money Floods the Race for Control of Congress, More Than a Year Early

A dizzying magnitude of wealth is already pouring into the battles for the House and the Senate much than a twelvemonth earlier the 2022 elections, arsenic Republicans are bullish connected their chances to instrumentality implicit some chambers successful the archetypal midterm predetermination nether President Biden, fixed the constrictive margins keeping Democrats successful power.

The 2 parties’ main warfare chests for the House full a combined $128 cardinal — much than treble the sum astatine this constituent successful the 2020 rhythm and acold surpassing each different erstwhile one. Top House members are present raising $1 cardinal oregon much per quarter. And much than 2 twelve senators and Senate candidates topped that threshold.

Candidate aft candidate, and the parties themselves, are posting record-breaking sums, adjacent arsenic the shapes of astir House districts nationwide stay successful flux due to the fact that of delays successful the once-a-decade redrawing of boundaries.

In Georgia, Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, raised much than $100,000 per time successful the past 3 months for a $9.5 cardinal haul. But his starring Republican rival, Herschel Walker, the erstwhile shot subordinate who was urged to tally by erstwhile President Donald J. Trump, raised $3.7 cardinal successful a small much than a month, mounting up a perchance bruising and costly contention successful that cardinal state.

Politicians successful some parties are furiously racing to grow their online donor bases portion simultaneously courting large checks from affluent benefactors. At a Senate Republican retreat for large donors successful Palm Beach, Fla., this week, Mr. Trump’s beingness was a reminder of his continued perch astatine the halfway of the Republican Party — some successful helping lure donations and successful derailing immoderate messaging enactment operatives person designed.

“The donor assemblage is waking up to the information that the Republican Party has a historical accidental successful 2022, successful spite of Trump continuing to speech astir 2020,” said Scott Reed, a longtime Republican strategist.

Money unsocial is seldom decisive successful governmental races, particularly erstwhile some parties are flush with cash. But the glut of governmental funding, elaborate successful Federal Election Commission reports filed connected Friday by House and Senate candidates and announced by the parties, shows the increasing stakes of American elections, wherever a azygous flipped Senate spot tin displacement trillions of dollars successful national spending.

The country’s progressively polarized electorate has been hyper-engaged successful authorities since the Trump epoch began, and the easiness of channeling that vigor into donations online is remaking however campaigns are funded. The online donation clearinghouses for the 2 parties, ActBlue and WinRed, processed a combined full of much than $450 million successful the 3rd quarter.

The avalanche of currency could grow the 2022 governmental battlefield and effect successful an unrelenting question of advertizing aimed astatine Americans who unrecorded successful plaything districts and states.

The advertisement wars have, successful fact, already begun. Democratic- and Republican-linked groups are spending millions of dollars to signifier nationalist sentiment connected the spending bundle presently being debated successful Congress.

Among them is 1 Biden-aligned nonprofit group, Building Back Together, which said it had spent astir $15 cardinal connected tv ads successful much than 2 twelve House districts and cardinal states since July. This week, a Republican-aligned nonprofit group, One Nation, announced that it was opening a $10 cardinal advertisement campaign, urging 3 Democratic senators up for re-election successful 2022 — successful Nevada, Arizona and New Hampshire — to reason the spending package.

All told, much than $70 cardinal has been spent since Sept. 1 connected tv ads related to the Biden legislative agenda, according to AdImpact, a media-tracking firm.

Historically, the enactment retired of powerfulness has done good successful a caller president’s archetypal midterm election, and Republicans spot rising inflation, missteps successful Afghanistan and a softening successful Mr. Biden’s support standing arsenic reasons for a sunny 2022 outlook.

“We’ll person to truly screw up to suffer the House,” said Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, referring to the Democrats’ constrictive bulk successful that chamber. He said that recapturing the Senate, which is divided evenly betwixt 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, would beryllium connected recruiting much top-tier Republicans, specified arsenic Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire.

At the donor retreat successful Florida, Mr. Graham said, “there was a consciousness of optimism that was arsenic precocious arsenic I’ve seen it.”

In the House, the way to the bulk is wide expected to beryllium determined by suburban voters, who swung sharply toward the Democratic Party during the Trump administration.

Jesse Ferguson, a Democratic strategist who has worked connected House campaigns, noted that the cardinal relation of suburban terrain — the battlegrounds were much agrarian 15 years agone — had driven up the outgo of campaigning. Buying ads to scope suburban voters requires advertizing successful pricier municipality tv markets.

“The upside is the Democratic conjugation is built astir suburbs,” Mr. Ferguson said. “The downside is the resources to tally successful Philadelphia and Chicago and L.A. and Miami.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee began this twelvemonth with astir $8 cardinal little connected manus than its Democratic counterpart but entered October with astir $2 cardinal more, arsenic tiny integer contributions person accelerated for Republicans. Each radical has raised good implicit $100 cardinal this year.

Representative Tom Emmer, the president of the Republican legislature committee, noted successful a telephone with reporters that successful the 2020 cycle, his enactment committee had not reached the $100 cardinal threshold until February — 5 months later.

Both the Senate and the House Republican run committees person leaned connected hardball and sometimes deceptive tactics to boost their bottommost lines, specified arsenic pre-checking boxes that automatically enroll donors successful recurring monthly contributions and aggressively fostering guilt trips successful supporters and questioning their allegiances.

“You’re a traitor …” began 1 specified House G.O.P. substance earlier this week. “You abandoned Trump.”

The substance gave a mendacious deadline of 17 minutes to donate. “This is your last accidental to beryllium your loyalty oregon beryllium branded a deserter,” it read.

The House G.O.P. committee, which declined to remark connected its tactics, said it had raised astir 44 percent of its funds past 4th online.

“Democrats person owned online fund-raising, and that is nary longer true,” said erstwhile Representative Tom Davis, who antecedently led the House Republican run arm. “Republicans present are the ones who are obsessed and aroused. People voted for Biden to get Trump retired of their surviving rooms. But they didn’t ballot for each his policies.”

Most Republican strategists anticipation to support the absorption connected Democrats, knowing voters typically privation to enactment a cheque connected those successful power. But Mr. Trump’s continued insistence connected making his mendacious claims that the 2020 predetermination was stolen a cardinal rallying outcry for the G.O.P. — “If we don’t lick the Presidential Election Fraud of 2020,” Mr. Trump warned successful a connection this week, “Republicans volition not beryllium voting successful ’22 oregon ’24” — is simply a complicating factor.

“If it’s a referendum connected Biden’s policies, we volition bash precise well,” Mr. Graham said of the 2022 midterms. “If it’s looking back, if it’s a grievance campaign, past we could beryllium successful trouble.”

Mr. Emmer tried to region himself from Mr. Trump’s remarks, saying, “He’s a backstage citizen, and he, of course, is entitled to his ain opinion.” Still, Mr. Emmer added that helium was “honored” that the erstwhile president would header the committee’s autumn fund-raising dinner. “He remains the biggest gully successful our party,” helium said.

Congressional leaders are the different starring enactment fund-raisers. Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the Republican number leader, and his apical deputy, Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, person transferred a combined full of astir $30 cardinal to their enactment committees this year, enactment officials said.

Mr. Scalise’s apical donations since July included $105,000 from the PAC of Koch Industries; $125,000 from H. Fisk Johnson, the main enforcement of S.C. Johnson & Son; and $66,300 from John W. Childs, the backstage equity magnate.

Whether this is the last word of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is 81, is wide discussed successful Washington. But the San Francisco Democrat remains a prolific fund-raiser.

Donors to her governmental accounts successful caller months see Haim Saban, the media capitalist ($263,400); Hamilton James, a apical Blackstone enforcement ($263,000); Gwendolyn Sontheim Meyer, the Cargill heiress ($263,400); and Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Hollywood shaper ($163,400).

Senator Chuck Schumer, the bulk leader, raised heavy some for his ain 2022 re-election bid successful New York and to support the Democratic majority.

Mr. Schumer has aggressively pressed apical enactment fund-raisers successful caller months, telling 1 that helium wanted to capable his warfare thorax (now astatine $31.9 million) arsenic a deterrent to immoderate superior situation from the left. He specifically named Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York arsenic the benignant of campaigner helium would similar to support from running, mostly to debar weakening his manus portion navigating the evenly divided Senate.

Mr. Schumer’s bureau declined to comment.

Notably, immoderate of the apical fund-raisers successful some parties are Black.

They see Mr. Warnock, the apical Democratic fund-raiser speech from legislature leaders, and Mr. Walker, a starring Republican successful the Georgia Senate race. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the lone Black Republican successful the Senate, was the apical fund-raiser successful the enactment speech from the legislature leaders.

Mr. Scott raised $8.3 cardinal successful the 3rd quarter. He present has $18.8 cardinal successful the bank, funds that tin beryllium utilized for his 2022 re-election oregon to effect a imaginable 2024 statesmanlike run.

Representative Val Demings, a Black Democrat successful Florida and a erstwhile Orlando constabulary chief, is challenging Senator Marco Rubio, the Republican incumbent, and was different apical fund-raiser, pulling successful $8.4 million. But she spent heavy to bash so: $5.6 million.

Florida has proved elusive for Democratic candidates, particularly successful caller years, and immoderate enactment strategists are already softly grumbling astir the tens of millions — if not much — that is apt to beryllium poured successful to a pugnacious race, particularly aft hundreds of millions of dollars was spent connected losing 2020 efforts to topple Republican incumbents successful Maine, Iowa, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Rachel Shorey contributed reporting.