Talarico Leads a Democratic Cash Surge: 7 Takeaways From 2026 Filings
WASHINGTON -- Democratic candidates for the Senate are in good shape financially -- but Republicans have an advantage when it comes to money from outside groups.
That’s the midterm state of play as of the start of April, according to new Federal Election Commission filings that offer an up-close look at the finances of candidates, super political action committees and other political groups. Filings for some additional groups will be released next week.
Overall, the filings Wednesday paint a rosy picture for Democrats at a time when party leaders are growing more bullish about their chances of reclaiming one or both chambers of Congress and offering a check on President Donald Trump.
Here are seven takeaways.
Talarico is a fundraising juggernaut.
James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas, raised $27 million in the first months of 2026 -- a remarkable haul that far outpaced that of any other Senate candidate. His campaign said it was the most a Senate hopeful had ever raised in the first quarter of a year.
His fundraising strength stems in part from his competitive primary battle in March against Rep. Jasmine Crockett. But it clearly points to Democratic voters’ rising hopes about the race in solidly red Texas, as the Republican candidates for Senate are still contending with an ugly May runoff election.
Texas, of course, has long crushed Democrats’ dreams. Some Democrats worry the race could be a money pit -- meaning that Talarico could attract millions of dollars from small and big donors that might have been better spent elsewhere, only to fall short.
Other key Democrats put up strong numbers.
Several other top Democratic candidates for Senate posted healthy totals that were far more than their Republican rivals raised.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, who is running in the state’s open Senate race, and Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, who is defending his seat, each raised about $14 million in the first quarter. Ossoff entered April with a striking figure of nearly $32 million on hand for what is set to be one of the country’s most expensive campaigns.
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, running again for the chamber in Ohio, brought in $12.5 million, and former Rep. Mary Peltola raised $8.9 million in her bid in Alaska. (The numbers for Cooper, Brown and Peltola include some money from allied committees.)
In each of those states, the leading Republican candidates trailed far behind. The only Republican with a significant financial advantage appeared to be Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who has more cash on hand than her two Democratic challengers and has her own well-funded super PAC ready to spend for her.
But Republicans have a super PAC advantage.
Senate Republicans’ main outside super PAC is doing much better than its counterpart on the Democratic side.
Entering April, the Senate Republican super PAC had more than twice the cash on hand that the Senate Democratic group did. That cash advantage, nearly $92 million, could help neutralize Democratic candidates’ early individual edge.
On the big donor front, it’s Adelson vs. Soros.
Miriam Adelson, the widow of longtime Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, has become one of the party’s biggest contributors -- particularly to the major super PACs allied with the GOP’s House and Senate leadership.
But she usually doesn’t give big until the summer or fall. This March, Adelson sent $40 million total to those two super PACs, immediately making her one of the biggest donors this election cycle.
Adelson’s foil may be George Soros, the biggest disclosed liberal donor.
In January, a group associated with Soros, the 95-year-old longtime funder of Democratic causes, put $50 million more into his main super PAC, Democracy PAC, for the midterm cycle. That followed a $52 million check that a different Soros group gave to Democracy PAC last year.
Soros’ super PAC, in turn, gave $9 million to the main super PAC backing Senate Democrats this quarter.
A Silicon Valley giant is spending big to push AI and crypto.
The venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is a top donor to the flagship super PACs backed by the artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries, making it one of this cycle’s biggest donors.
The firm donated $25 million more in February to the top pro-AI super PAC, Leading the Future. In all, the firm has now made about $77 million in disclosed federal contributions this cycle.
A pro-Trump crypto group is starting to ramp up.
In September, a mysterious super PAC called Fellowship PAC said it planned to spend $100 million to push pro-Trump, pro-crypto candidates. But its funders and agenda have remained under wraps.
Last week, the group announced some of its first endorsed candidates, including Nate Morris, a Republican Senate candidate in Kentucky, and began spending on their behalf. (Elon Musk also disclosed an expected $10 million check to help Morris.) And on Wednesday, filings revealed that the group’s biggest funder, with $10 million, is Cantor Fitzgerald, the former firm of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The crypto company Tether appears to be involved: The super PAC recently announced that a top Tether official would be its chair. The New York Times reported in September that the super PAC’s backers would include Tether.
A surprise sports-betting super PAC.
If the crypto and AI industries were not offering enough spending by special interests, meet the latest player: the sports-betting industry.
On Wednesday, the filings revealed a super PAC called Win for America that is making a $41 million push from sports betting platforms including FanDuel and DraftKings to push policies that are friendly to the sportsbooks, primarily through spending in state legislative elections.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Copyright 2026 The New York Times Company
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 11:33 AM.