The five remaining Republican lawmakers facing primary challengers backed by former President Donald Trump have outraised their opponents according to new campaign finance reports.
The reports, filed with the Federal Election Commission on Friday, also showed the incumbents with more money in their campaign accounts as they head into their August primaries.
All five incumbents, including Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer, and Washington Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse, voted to impeach Trump after a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Murkowski, the only senator who voted to convict Trump who is running for re-election this year, raised $1.7 million in the most recent fundraising quarter, which spanned from April through June, and ended the quarter with $6.1 million in her campaign account. Her chief primary opponent, Kelly Tshibaka, raised $596,000 and had $1.1 million on hand.
Cheney is facing the best-funded primary challenger of the group, but she’s still outraising her primary opponent, Harriet Hageman, raising $2.9 million to Hageman’s $1.8 million. Cheney also had a significant cash-on-hand advantage, with $7 million in her campaign account to Hageman’s $1.4 million.
Republican Loren Culp had the worst fundraising haul of the Trump-endorsed challengers, raising just $109,000 for his race against Newhouse, ending the quarter with $54,000 on hand. Newhouse meanwhile raised $366,000 and had $871,000 on hand.
Also in Washington, Herrera Beutler outraised her primary challenger Joe Kent, pulling in $583,000 to Kent’s $324,000. She had $1.1 million on hand while Kent had $545,000.
Meijer raised more than twice as much as his Trump-backed challenger, John Gibbs, and his campaign war chest was 10 times larger than Gibbs’ campaign. Meijer ended the quarter with $1.4 million on hand while Gibbs had $125,000.
But more campaign cash doesn’t always predict success. All three GOP incumbents who have lost to Trump-backed primary challengers so far, including Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice, and West Virginia Rep. David McKinley, outraised and outspent their primary challengers and still lost.
