Politics
Cassidy raises $1.65 million for reelection fight
Sen. Bill Cassidy raised $1.65 million in the latest fundraising quarter and has $11 million in cash on hand, his team tells Blue Light News, as he seeks to ward off a right-wing primary challenge.
The Louisiana Republican is facing several primary challengers on the right fueled by his past criticism of President Donald Trump. Cassidy voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6 attack against the capital, a stance that angered the GOP base in Louisiana.
Cassidy has consistently posted slightly higher fundraising numbers than his opponents, John Fleming, the state treasurer and a former congressman, and state Sen. Blake Miguez, but has a significantly larger war chest. Cassidy has raised more than $17 million this cycle to date. Fleming and Miguez haven’t released their latest numbers; they had just over $2 million and $2.5 million in the bank respectively as of the end of September. Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) has also flirted with a bid, though sources tell Blue Light News she is not expected to run; she had $2.3 million in the bank as of the end of September.
It’s unclear
The senator will have some help. A pair of super PACs supporting Cassidy’s reelection will show they had $5 million in cash on hand at the end of 2025 and received an additional $2 million in the first two weeks of January, according to a source close to those efforts. The PACs expect to spend between $13 and $15 million on his behalf.
Cassidy is one of a trio of GOP senators facing tough reelection fights where Trump is declining to endorse a candidate, along with Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Maine Sen. Susan Collins.
Cassidy’s Senate GOP colleagues are backing his reelection. On Thursday, Majority Leader John Thune will host a fundraiser for Cassidy in Baton Rouge that’s expected to bring in $600,000.
Politics
Pappas holds cash advantage over GOP rivals in New Hampshire
Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) holds a sizable cash advantage over his GOP rivals in the race for New Hampshire’s open Senate seat.
The Democrat raked in $3.3 million to his campaign account over the first quarter of the year as he vies to succeed retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Pappas, who faces only nominal opposition for his party’s nomination, entered April with $4.2 million in his war chest, according to his Federal Election Commission filing.
Pappas’ leading GOP competitor, former Sen. John E. Sununu, raised $1.1 million directly to his campaign account and had nearly $1.9 million in cash on hand. He spent just $349,000, per his filing — a significantly lower burn rate than Pappas, who spent $2.3 million over the last three months.
Sununu’s primary rival, former Sen. Scott Brown, lagged even further behind. Brown raised a modest $321,000 and entered the second quarter with $783,000 in his campaign coffers. He spent more money than he brought in, according to his filing.
Pappas leads both of his potential Republican opponents in hypothetical polling match-ups of the general election, though his margin against Sununu is slimmer.
Sununu, who has the backing of the national GOP establishment and President Donald Trump in a state Republicans hope to flip, holds a wide lead over Brown, a former Trump ambassador, in polls of the GOP primary.
Politics
Ossoff builds massive cash edge as Georgia GOP field remains unsettled
Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff holds a massive fundraising advantage over the Republicans hoping to unseat him in November, giving him a head start as the GOP field remains fractured.
Ossoff, considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents of the cycle, raised $14 million during the first quarter of the year and ended with more than $31 million cash on hand — a significant war chest that dwarfs the combined totals of his Republican challengers, according to filings from the Federal Elections Commission.
On the GOP side, Rep. Mike Collins led in first-quarter fundraising, raising just over $1 million and entering the second quarter with $2.1 million in cash on hand. Collins has been a front-runner in public polling of the race, but with a large share of voters still undecided ahead of the May primary, the contest appears increasingly likely to head to a June runoff.
Rep. Buddy Carter raised $469,795, but he ended the quarter with more in the bank than his primary opponents — $3.7 million — thanks in part due to a $3 million he loaned his campaign last year. Former football coach Derek Dooley raised $663,502 and has $2.2 million in the bank.
National Republicans are likely to funnel more money into the contest once a nominee emerges, with the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund already planning a $44 million investment in Georgia. But in the meantime, Ossoff has been able to build a financial lead in what’s expected to be one of the most expensive Senate races of 2026.
Politics
Barr keeps his cash lead in Kentucky Senate GOP primary
Rep. Andy Barr maintained his cash advantage over his GOP rivals in the race to succeed retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell in Kentucky.
Barr raised nearly $1.5 million over the first three months of the year and started April with almost $4.2 million in his war chest — more than five times that of his next-closest rival, according to filings from the Federal Election Commission.
Businessman Nate Morris reported raising $1 million and had roughly $580,000 in his campaign coffers to start the second quarter. But nearly half of that — $450,000 — was a personal loan, per his filing. Morris has now loaned himself $4.9 million over the course of the campaign.
Former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron posted another modest haul; he raised $456,000 and had roughly $765,000 in cash on hand.
Barr holds a slim lead in public polling of the contentious primary for McConnell’s seat that has seen all three major candidates scramble to distance themselves from their former boss and embrace Donald Trump. The president has not endorsed in the race.
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