Incumbent US House members have campaign cash advantage — CNBC
In the United States, incumbent members of the House of Representatives in many competitive races ahead of the 2026 midterm elections have more cash on hand for election campaigns than their opponents. In 11 of 19 matchups between an incumbent lawmaker and a challenger that Cook Political Report with Amy Walter classified as toss-ups, one candidate had at least twice as much money — and in all of those cases it was the incumbent House member, CNBC reports.
Largest financial gaps
In Michigan’s 7th District, Republican Tom Barrett had approximately $2.9 million compared with about $383,000 for Democratic challenger William Lawrence — an advantage of more than sevenfold. In Colorado’s 8th District, Republican Gabe Evans had about $3.9 million, while Democrat Manny Rutinel had approximately $601,000.
In California’s 22nd District, Republican David Valadao had about $3.4 million, nearly six times more than the approximately $572,000 held by Democrat Randy Villegas. Democrat Marcy Kaptur in Ohio’s 9th District had about $3.5 million, more than seven times the amount held by her Republican opponent Derek Merrin.
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Challengers’ funds
In some districts, challengers had more cash on hand than incumbent lawmakers. Democrat Christina Bohannan in Iowa’s 1st District had about $5.4 million compared with approximately $4.7 million for Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks. In Pennsylvania’s 10th District, Democrat Janelle Stelson had nearly $4.5 million, while Republican Scott Perry had about $2.8 million.
CNBC also notes that in six races, challengers had more money than incumbent House members, but none had a two-to-one advantage. Cook Political Report rates 21 races as toss-ups: Republicans control 16 seats and Democrats control five.
The data are based on Federal Election Commission filings compiled by OpenSecrets. The latest standardized quarterly reports covered the period through June 30, while CNBC used the most recent available filing data for each candidate as of September 18. The cash-on-hand figure reflects the balance after spending and does not include independent expenditures by super PACs and other groups. The next quarterly reports, covering the period through September 30, must be filed by October 15.
