GOP alarmed by Democratic Senate hopefuls’ fundraising haul

Democratic candidates in the 11 most competitive Senate races collectively raised $67.3 million in the second quarter of the year, $20.5 million more than their Republican counterparts, according to fundraising reports filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission. The total includes two Republicans who gave almost $6.5 million to their own campaigns. Democrats in those battleground states—which include Arizona and North Carolina—also raised more than Republicans in the first three months of the year…

“We’re scared to death by what we see,” another Senate GOP strategist said.

At a closed-door lunch in June for GOP chiefs of staff, the National Republican Senatorial Committee shared a power-point presentation that concluded with a slide showing a train about to hit a man standing on the tracks, along with bullet points highlighting the digital fundraising gap between Democratic challengers and their Republican rivals in the first quarter of this year. The NRSC declined to comment on the presentation, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal and first reported by Politico.