Once all the campaign-finance reports are in, the 2018 elections will have broken the record for the most money spent in a midterm cycle—a total of around $5.2 billion, according to a projection by the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP). (The exact total won’t be known until after December 6, the Federal Elections Commission’s final filing deadline for all midterm spending.)
Here are the top five individuals donors to federal candidates, parties, and political action committees:
Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, owners of the Las Vegas Sands corporation: $113 million to Republicans
Thomas Steyer and Kathryn Ann Fahr, the billionaire hedge fund manager and his wife: $50.7 million to Democrats
Richard & Elizabeth Uihlein, owners of shipping supplies company Uline Inc: $39 million to Republicans
Michael Bloomberg, businessman and former NYC mayor: $38.2 million to Democrats
Donald Sussman, financier and philanthropist: $22.8 million to Democrats
Other famous donors in the top 20 include philanthropist George Soros ($17 million to Democrats), Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ($10 million to a non-partisan PAC trying to get veterans elected), and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman ($8 million almost entirely to Democrats).
The top five Political Action Committees (PACs) by contributions to candidates and party committees:
The National Beer Wholesale Association: $3 million (46 percent to Democrats and 54 percent to Republicans)
AT&T: $2.8 million (40 percent to Democrats and 60 percent to Republicans)
Northrop Grumman: $2.7 million (42 percent to Democrats and 58 percent to Republicans)
National Association of Realtors: $2.5 million (50 percent to Democrats and 50 percent to Republicans)
Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation Union: $2.4 million (87 percent to Democrats and 13 percent to Republicans)
The House candidates that raised the most money:
Jon Ossoff (D), Georgia’s 6th District (special election in 2017): $ 30.4 million
David Trone (D), Maryland’s 6th District: $16.5 million
Scott Wallace (D), Pennsylvania’s 1st District: $13.9 million
Devin Nunes (R), California’s 22nd District: $11.6 million
Gil Cisneros (D), California’s 39th District: $11.1 million
And the top Senate candidates:
Beto O’Rourke (D), Texas: $69 million
Rick Scott (R), Florida: $68.6 million
Claire McCaskill (D), Missouri: $32.9 million
Bob Hugin (R), New Jersey: $30.2 million
Ted Cruz (R), Texas: $29.8 million