SCOOP: McConnell-aligned groups set election year fundraising record in battle for Senate majority

EXCLUSIVE: Two outside groups aligned with longtime Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell report that they hauled in over $51 million in fundraising in the past three months as Republicans aim to win back the chamber’s majority in November’s elections.

Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top super PAC backing Senate Republican incumbents and candidates, brought in $24.4 million in the January-March first quarter of 2024 fundraising. The affiliated non-profit public advocacy group One Nation raised $26.99 million.

The two groups say their combined haul is a fundraising record for the first quarter of an election year. Their figures were shared first with Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

The 82-year-old McConnell, who is the longest serving Senate leader in the nation’s history, announced two months ago that he would step down from his leadership position after the November elections.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., gives remarks during a presentation at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Two outside groups aligned with McConnell report record fundraising. (Fox News)

One Nation brought in more than twice what it did in the same fundraising time period in the 2022 election cycle, and the Senate Leadership Fund roughly matched their first quarter haul in 2022.

Senate Leadership Fund reported $59.5 million cash-on-hand as of April 1, with One Nation reporting $83 million in its coffers.

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“Our donors know how consequential the battle for the Senate is this election cycle. We’re putting in the work to ensure Republicans have a lasting Senate Majority come January 2025,” Senate Leadership Fund president and CEO Steven Law told Fox News in a statement.

Senate Majority PAC, the top outside group backing Senate Democrats, has yet to announce its first quarter fundraising figures. The super PAC, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, outraised Senate Leadership Fund last year.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority in the chamber, which includes three independent senators who caucus with the Democratic conference.

That means Republicans need a net gain of either one or two seats to win back the majority – depending on which party controls the White House after this year’s presidential election.

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The math and the map favor the GOP in 2024. Democrats are defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states that former President Trump carried in 2020 – West Virginia, Montana and Ohio.

Additionally, Democrats are defending an open seat in West Virginia after Sen. Joe Manchin announced late last year that he would not seek re-election.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., waves to visitors on the Senate steps as he leaves the Capitol after the last vote of the week in Washington on Thursday, May 4, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Five other blue-held seats are in key swing states narrowly carried by President Biden in 2020 – Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. 

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In blue-state Maryland, Senate Republicans scored a recruiting success with popular former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan.

Texas and Florida, where incumbent Sens. Ted Cruz and Rick Scott are seeking re-election, appear to be the only potentially competitive GOP-held seats up for grabs this November.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.