EXCLUSIVE – Two outside groups aligned with longtime Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell report that they have brought in nearly $50 million in fundraising in August in the race to build resources as Republicans aim to win back the chamber’s majority in the 2024 elections.
Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top super PAC backing Senate Republican incumbents and candidates, and the affiliated non-profit public advocacy group One Nation, combined raised $49.36 million in paid and pledged donations last month, according to figures shared first with FOX Business on Wednesday. The groups say last month’s haul is a record for August of a nonelection year.
The two groups combined raked in roughly $38 million so far in 2023, which organizers say is also a nonelection fundraising record. The figures are another indication that there has been no slowdown in fundraising by outside groups aligned with McConnell.
“Our donors have immense respect for Leader McConnell, as evidenced by our record fundraising in the first half of 2023 as well as this August. No one is outworking the Leader when it comes to retaking the Senate majority,” Senate Leadership Fund president and CEO Steven Law said in a statement.
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However, the 81-year-old McConnell — the longest serving major party Senate leader in history — has been making plenty of headlines in recent weeks for his health rather than his well-known fundraising prowess.
McConnell grabbed national attention after freezing last week in front of TV cameras at an event in his home state of Kentucky. It was his second health scare this year captured by the media.
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The incidents have raised questions about whether McConnell could continue to hold his powerful position steering the Senate GOP conference. However, Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, said in a letter this week that there was no evidence McConnell has a seizure disorder, experienced a stroke or suffered from a movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease.
Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority in the chamber, which includes three independent senators who caucus with the Democratic conference.
That means Republicans need a net gain of either one or two seats in 2024 to win back the majority — depending on which party controls the White House after next year’s presidential election.
The math and the map favor the GOP in 2024. Democrats are defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs, including three in red states and a handful in key general election battlegrounds.