Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman continues to raise and spend substantially more money than his Republican counterpart, Mehmet Oz. But spending by outside groups have ensured that Oz remains competitive this fall.
Fetterman’s campaign received more than $22 million in contributions from July to September, while Oz received less than $9 million, according to new campaign-finance reports filed over the weekend with the Federal Election Commission.
During that same period, Fetterman spent more than $23 million and Oz spent more than $14 million on the campaign. Oz kept pace with Fetterman in part by loaning his campaign more than $7 million during the reporting period: Oz has loaned his campaign more than $21 million throughout the campaign.
Fetterman received more of his money from small-dollar donations: More than half of the $47 million he has raised has come from people who have given less than $200 in total. Only about a third of the money Oz has raised has come from such contributions. Donors who have given smaller sums can do so again without bumping up against federal contribution limits – sometimes a key consideration in the final stretch of a campaign.
But Oz has been helped by outside spending from groups with their own efforts to sway voters. According to Reuters, outside Republican groups spent more than $20 million supporting Oz’s election in the month of September alone, dwarfing the total spent by Oz’s own campaign over the entire summer.
By contrast, Fetterman received only $9 million from the Democrat-aligned Senate Majority political action committee in September, drawing complaints from his campaign. The PAC has since committed $22 million toward Fetterman in October.
Both candidates have continued to fundraise to pay for the final stretch of their campaigns: Fetterman reported $4 million in cash on hand at the end of September, while Oz reported $2.5 million.
Fetterman outraised Oz in the primary as well and, in total, has raised nearly $4 for every dollar raised by Oz. But Oz’s personal loans to the campaign have pared down that advantage: Fetterman has only spent about $1.33 for every dollar spent by Oz.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
