By Jim Ellis — Friday, February 13, 2026
Campaign Finance
The year-end 2025 fundraising reports are now available, and The Down Ballot political blog statisticians have released their quarterly report summarizing the candidates’ fundraising performances. Below is an overview of the most competitive and noteworthy campaigns.
As was the case for the entire last year, the leading national fundraiser continues to be Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff (D). In the 4th quarter of 2025, he added an additional $9.65 million to his coffers. Sen. Ossoff posts a cash-on-hand figure of $25.5 million. His totals dwarf all Republican contenders. The GOP candidate with the largest campaign war chest is Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Pooler/Savannah) who reports $4.2 million in his campaign account.
The Alabama Republican primary to replace Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R), who is running for Governor, is close in both polling and fundraising. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), whom President Trump recently endorsed, has $842,000 cash-on-hand, but his three opponents, Attorney General Steve Marshall, former Capitol Hill aide Morgan Murphy, and ex-Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, all post between $428,000 (Hudson) and $562,000 (Marshall) in their campaign treasuries.
Turning to Alaska, former at-large Rep. Mary Peltola (D) announced her candidacy in January and therefore won’t have to file a disclosure report until the end of March. Her general election opponent, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R), has a healthy $5.8 million campaign bank account.
In Iowa, where Democrats hope to score an upset in the open-seat campaign, it appears their candidates are off to a slow start. None even reach the $800,000 cash-on-hand plateau, while consensus Republican candidate, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Marion/Cedar Rapids), has more than $5.1 million in her campaign committee.
Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Schaumburg) also continued his strong fundraising pace. After spending $6.18 million so far, he still has $15.2 million in the bank. This gives him a 15:1 available cash advantage over Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Rep. Robin Kelly (Matteson/Chicago) as the three contenders move toward a March 17 primary. Krishnamoorthi also enjoys double-digit polling leads in all published surveys.
Stratton is expecting a seven-figure support boost from the Lieutenant Governor’s Association Super PAC, to which Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) has generously contributed in support of her bid. The eventual Democratic nominee will clinch the seat in the general election.
The open Kentucky Senate Republican race is becoming interesting. Rep. Andy Barr (R-Lexington) is the best fundraiser of the group, raising $6.5 million before the end of 2024, but businessman Nate Morris has matched him because he added a $4.5 million loan to his campaign. Elon Musk has also contributed $10 million to a Super PAC that supports Morris.
Former Attorney General and 2023 gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron, despite leading in several Senate polls, trails badly in fundraising bringing in only $1.6 million for his campaign through Dec. 31.
The intra-party battle to deny Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy renomination in the Republican primary suggests the incumbent won’t go down without a fight. The Senator posts over $10 million in his campaign account, far more than his principal opponents, Rep. Julia Letlow (R-Start) who has $2.4 million in the bank, and State Treasurer John Fleming who self-funded $8.1 million but shows only $2.1 million cash-on-hand.
A surprise fundraising report occurred in the Massachusetts Democratic primary. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) actually raised significantly more in the fourth quarter than did Sen. Ed Markey, $2.0 million to $772,000. The Congressman also has more on-hand resources than the Senator, $3.1 million to $2.8 million. With the Democratic primary not scheduled until Sept. 1, this race has much time to develop.
It appears that Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills must overcome a difficult obstacle even before facing Sen. Susan Collins (R) in the general election. Gov. Mills posts $1.3 million cash-on-hand, while oysterman Graham Platner (D) is showing $3.7 million in his campaign account. Both are well behind Sen. Collins in resources. She reports just over $8 million in her campaign account.
The Michigan Senate race will be one of the premier national contests. Former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is the clear favorite to become the Republican nominee, shows $3.5 million in his campaign account.
The three Democratic contenders, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), and former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed, all have seven-figure campaign accounts. Rep. Stevens has just over $3 million, while Sen. McMorrow and El-Sayed both have just under $2 million in their respective campaign committees. All will empty their war chests just to win the party nomination, but that election won’t occur until Aug. 4.
While Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (D) enjoys polling leads and key Democratic endorsements, she trails Rep. Angie Craig (D-Prior Lake) in fundraising. In fact, the Congresswoman has a major advantage in campaign resources. She posts almost $3.8 million cash-on-hand, which is more than three times greater than Lt. Gov. Flanagan’s available amount.
North Carolina former Gov. Roy Cooper (D) also owns a huge resource advantage over his likely general election opponent. The former Governor and ex-Attorney General shows more than $12.3 million in available campaign assets versus $3.7 million for former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley. Both are competing for retiring Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R) open seat.
Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts (R) and Independent Dan Osborn both disclose just under $600,000 cash-on-hand in their respective accounts. Polling will likely show this race as relatively close until the final stage when Sen. Ricketts will likely pull away a score a sizable victory.
New Hampshire Rep. Chris Pappas (D-Manchester), the consensus Democratic candidate, also has a big funding lead. He reports $3.2 million in his campaign account. Republican former Sens. John E. Sununu and Scott Brown post $1.1 million and $908,000, respectively.
The Ohio Senate race will be expensive. Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), who lost his 2024 re-election campaign despite raising over $100 million, again has the fundraising lead. His cash figure is $9.9 million. Appointed Sen. Jon Husted (R) reports a respectable $6.0 million in his campaign account.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has a credible Republican primary opponent. The Senator is more than prepared, however, with $13.4 million to spend. Businessman Mark Lynch (R) has $4.6 million remaining from his initial personal loan of just over $5 million.
Not surprisingly, everyone in Texas has money. Democratic state Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) had $7.1 million in assets at the end of 2025. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas), leading in most polling, has just over $6 million.
For the Republicans, who are almost certain to head into a runoff election after the March 3 primary, Sen. John Cornyn (R) has the most cash, $5.8 million. Attorney General Ken Paxton possesses $3.7 million, and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Houston), who is close in polling, trails badly in cash-on-hand with just over $779,000.
With dollars flowing into both Democratic and Republican candidate committees, the money chase will again likely produce a record aggregate haul for the 2026 midterm election participants.