The first campaign finance reports of the year provided an early look under the hood at how burgeoning campaigns are preparing for a fierce battle for control of Washington in the 2026 midterm elections — and the next presidential contest.
There were clear signs of Democratic enthusiasm, with cash flowing to Senate candidates in top battleground races and to the outspoken progressives who have styled themselves as opponents of President Donald Trump.
Here are the top takeaways from the fundraising reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday.
Cash boom for vocal anti-Trump Democrats
Progressives who have emerged as the most vocal counterweights to Trump posted massive fundraising hauls in the first three months of the year — even though they either aren’t up for re-election in 2026 or won’t face competitive races.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., brought in $11.5 million over that span, including almost $10 million from donations of less than $200. After spending about $3.2 million, he finished with $19 million banked away.
The $11.5 million total underscores the huge donor base Sanders has built since his first Democratic presidential bid in 2016, and is more than he raised during the entirety of 2023 and 2024 combined, when he was on the ballot for another Senate term.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who has been barnstorming the country with Sanders and trying to step into her party’s leadership void, raised $9.6 million in the first quarter and had $8.2 million in cash on hand.
Ocasio-Cortez spent significantly to help raise that money, $5 million overall, as she’s been flooding social media with fundraising videos. But she’s seen a significant return, far greater than the $1.3 million she raised in the first quarter of 2023. Ocasio-Cortez faces re-election next year in a safe Democratic district, but her strong fundraising won’t quell rumors that she’s eying higher office down the road.
Other Democrats who have sought a higher profile in the second Trump administration posted big numbers, too.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who told NBC News earlier this year that he wants to “build a movement” to help fight Trump, raised $8 million in the first three months of the year, which is more than what he raised across all of 2024, when he was up for re-election. He also spent $4 million in the first quarter.
And Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., a potential 2028 presidential contender who compared Vice President JD Vance to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin at a speech Tuesday, raised $3.7 million.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., received significant praise from Democrats after his marathon speech on the Senate floor highlighting his frustration with the Trump administration. But that speech came after the books closed on the first quarter, so it won’t be clear whether that translated to a fundraising boom until later this summer.
Senate battlegrounds take shapeSenators who are facing competitive races next year signaled that they are already gearing up for their fights.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., led the pack with a whopping $11.2 million raised in the first three months of the year. He ended the quarter with $11.1 million in his campaign account.
Ossoff will be a top Republican target in 2026, but it’s unclear who his opponent will be. Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, who is term-limited, is weighing a potential Senate run.
Two Republican senators facing tough races are also building up their campaign coffers. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, raised $842,000 and ended the quarter with $3.2 million on hand. And Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., raised $2.3 million and had $4 million in his campaign account.
Some Senate contenders also sent signals that they are preparing for bids in a trio of open-seat races where Democratic senators are retiring.
In Michigan, Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens raised nearly $1.2 million as she considers a run to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Democratic state Sen. Mallory McMorrow is already in the race, launching her campaign after the first fundraising quarter ended.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., raised $431,000 before officially launching another Senate campaign this week, ending the quarter with $523,000 on hand. Another potential Michigan Senate candidate, GOP Rep. Bill Huizenga, raked in $857,000.
Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., also built up his campaign coffers before launching his Senate campaign earlier this month, raising $655,000 and ending the quarter with $857,000 on hand. First-term Democratic Rep. Maggie Goodlander, who is also weighing a Senate bid, raised $533,000.
And in Minnesota, Democratic Rep. Angie Craig pulled in $1.2 million as she considers a run to replace outgoing Democratic Sen. Tina Smith. Two Democratic candidates already in the race — Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and former state Senate Minority Leader Melisa López Franzen — had just six weeks of the most recent quarter to fundraise. Flanagan collected $452,000, compared to $260,000 for López Franzen.
Preparing for primaries
Two Senate Republicans are also staring down potentially bruising primary fights.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, raised nearly $1.6 million in the first quarter, ending March with $5.6 million in his campaign account. State Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a primary challenge against Cornyn last week, so he did not file a first quarter fundraising report.
Cornyn received boosts from his Senate colleagues, reporting donations from political action committees tied to at least 10 GOP senators, including Majority Leader John Tune, R-S.D., and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C. The NRSC and the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned to Senate GOP leadership, are backing Cornyn in the race.
In Louisiana, GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy is facing a primary challenge from former state Treasurer John Fleming, with other Republicans also eyeing a run. Cassidy and Collins are the two remaining GOP senators who voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Fleming, a former congressman, is primarily self-funding his campaign so far, loaning himself $2 million of the $2.3 million he raised last quarter. His campaign also carried over debt from previous runs.
Cassidy, meanwhile, had nearly $7.5 million left in his campaign account after raising more than $1 million in the first three months of the year.
But Cassidy did not receive as many donations from his Senate colleagues as Cornyn, reporting donations from PACs tied to Sens. John Boozman of Arkansas, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Todd Young of Indiana, and Chuck Grassley of Iowa. A PAC tied to Cassidy’s Louisiana colleague, GOP Sen. John Kennedy, donated to Cornyn but not to Cassidy.
New Jersey super PACs get a boost
The latest fundraising reports also provided a window into the money flowing into this year’s gubernatorial race in New Jersey.
Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer had previously declined to say whether he was using the funds in his sizable congressional campaign account for his gubernatorial run. But his House campaign’s report showed a $9.6 million transfer to Affordable New Jersey, a super PAC that has been boosting Gottheimer in the crowded primary for governor. Gottheimer’s congressional campaign reported nearly $11.3 million left in its account as of March 31.
Fellow Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, another top candidate for New Jersey governor, also boosted an allied super PAC, but on a much smaller scale. Sherrill’s congressional campaign sent nearly $128,000 to One Giant Leap PAC, which has been supporting her gubernatorial campaign.
Other filings of note
Several other nuggets stood out in the hundreds of campaign finance reports filed Tuesday.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., raised less than $43,000 last quarter as he prepares to announce whether he will run for re-election.
A political group affiliated with former Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign raised more than $5 million and sent $4.35 million to the Democratic National Committee.
And Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s former presidential campaign brought in $2.5 million, including about $1.1 million in donations from individuals and $1.4 million from selling “campaign assets & services” and the campaign’s RV to MAHA Action, an outside group aligned with him.