Senate hopefuls in tight races lean on out-of-state cash while pitching local messages

Candidates in key U.S. Senate races are raising large sums from donors outside their home states, and the messages they use to raise that money often differ from their local campaigns, NPR reported Wednesday. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 3. ¹

For Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, and Iowa Democratic nominee Josh Turek, more than 80% of itemized individual contributions have come from out of state. NPR says the pattern affects at least four competitive Senate races, where most of the money comes from outside the state. ¹

Why the money flows across state lines

Two online donation platforms, ActBlue for Democrats and WinRed for Republicans, are a major reason. They make small gifts cheap to collect. Zachary Albert, a Brandeis University politics professor, said the platforms "really reduced the transaction costs for contributing." ¹

An earlier OpenSecrets analysis, which tracks money in politics, looked at 17 candidates in nine battleground states. Two-thirds of the $289 million in individual contributions they raised through mid-July came from out-of-state donors. Fourteen candidates got most of their individual money from beyond their borders. ²

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Nearly 93% of Republican Sen. Susan Collins's contributions came from outside Maine, and nearly 90% of the $12.7 million raised by Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola came from outside Alaska, OpenSecrets found. ²

Different message at home and online

Michael Franz of the Wesleyan Media Project told NPR that a candidate running a local TV ad will rarely say "I'm the Democrat," because the goal is to reach moderates and swing voters. In a digital ad shown outside the state, he said, the party label matters more. ¹

NPR gave examples. Former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, calls on supporters to turn his state blue. Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins asks donors to turn the Senate seat red. Iowa Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson stresses that she is "America First," while Ossoff attacks President Trump directly. ¹

When Jon Ossoff is trying to compete for votes, he's competing against Georgia Republicans

The Ossoff campaign denied targeting audiences by location. It told NPR the campaign "is powered by small-dollar donors because the Senator refuses donations from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists." The other campaigns declined to comment or did not respond. ¹

Both parties now benefit. NPR says Democrats have leaned on outside money more, partly because competitive states like Ohio and Michigan have weaker local funding. ActBlue launched in 2004, nearly 15 years before WinRed in 2019. ¹

Can it be limited, and does it win votes?

Raymond La Raja, a University of Massachusetts political science professor, said limits are hard to write constitutionally. He noted the Supreme Court has ruled that groups cannot be stopped from spending as much as they want in elections. Hawaii will cap out-of-state donations starting in 2027. Alaska requires ads to list their top three donors, and Colorado and Virginia have similar laws for online and broadcast ads. ¹

Big out-of-state hauls do not guarantee wins. Sarah Bryner of Public Agenda, a research group focused on democracy, pointed to Amy McGrath's race against Sen. Mitch McConnell and Beto O'Rourke's race against Sen. Ted Cruz. Both outraised opponents with outside money and lost. ¹

And if you're getting all your money from outside of the state, those people can't vote for you.

That matters for the final week. Senate Republicans hold a 53-47 edge, and as of June 30 the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund held nearly $239 million in cash. That was about twice the $126.5 million held by Senate Majority PAC, its Democratic counterpart. ²

The Record

1. Jun 30, 2026The Senate Leadership Fund held nearly $239 million in cash, about twice Senate Majority PAC's $126.5 million. ²
2. Aug 27, 2026OpenSecrets analysis republished: two-thirds of $289 million raised by 17 battleground candidates came from out of state. ²
3. Oct 28, 2026NPR reports more than 80% of itemized contributions to Ossoff and Turek came from out of state. ¹

Sources

1. NPR, “Senate candidates built up massive campaign war chests with out-of-state donations” (2026-10-28). npr.org/2026/10/28/nx-s1-5940017/senate-campaign-fundraising
2. KEYT (OpenSecrets via Stacker), “Why are so many Senate battlegrounds running on out-of-state money” (2026-08-27). keyt.com/stacker-government-politics/2026/08/27/why-are-so-m

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