Republicans are warning that they could get vastly outspent in the battle for state legislative races across the country, a continuing reversal from last decade's elections, when the GOP dominated such contests.
In a donor memo first reported by Politico and obtained by ABC News, Republican State Leadership Committee President Dee Duncan wrote to donors that his group's historic $44 million investment in state legislative races this year would pale in comparison to the $175 million its Democratic counterpart and allied liberal groups planned to dish out.
"Since the…aforementioned national liberal outside groups have already combined to spend at least $69 million of traceable money across the country, that means they are on the road to dump at least another $100 million into key races between now and November," Duncan wrote in his call to action.
"We don't expect to fully close the fundraising gap we face, but additional resources are still immediately needed to counter the opposition's massive spending advantage in these final weeks to ensure we remain on course to defend our majorities and seize any and all opportunities to flip chambers still within reach," he added.
Democrats have made a concerted effort to get off the mat in state legislature races across the country. In 2022, the DLCC was able to overwhelm the RSLC in spending in the final weeks, a scenario Duncan specifically referenced as wanting to avoid this time around.
After having their ranks decimated in the 2010 midterms and struggling for over a decade to recoup, voting and abortion restrictions pushed by Republicans helped underscore the importance of such bodies for voters, producing an influx of funds that have helped Democrats go on offense. This year, the Democratic National Committee sent a first-of-its-kind $2.5 million to the DLCC.
Democrats are now on offense in Arizona, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and the Pennsylvania Senate, where they're seeking to flip state chambers. Republicans are working to regain ground in Michigan and Minnesota, as well as in the Pennsylvania House.
