Democratic incumbents in competitive races hold large cash lead

Two Democratic freshmen who flipped U.S. House seats in 2018 are rapidly expanding their war chest as they play defense against Republican challengers.

Reps. Colin Allred from Dallas and Lizzie Fletcher from Houston each outraised their GOP opponents who are trying to reclaim competitive congressional seats Republicans lost during the 2018 midterms.

Both Republican candidates won their respective primaries back in March and were spared from having runoff opponents, unlike other competitive districts in Texas where Republican seats are in danger.

Despite their primary elections being settled months ago, GOP candidates Genevieve Collins and Wesley Hunt have been unable to close the significant fundraising gap between their Democratic incumbent opponents. 

(The same can’t be said of Democratic congressional candidate Wendy Davis, who has already outraised her GOP incumbent opponent, Rep. Chip Roy, in TX-21.)

The latest campaign finance reports show Fletcher and Allred lead their GOP challengers by a 3 to 1 ratio in funding: 

TX-32 

Rep. Colin Allred (D)

Cash on hand: $3 million

Genevieve Collins (R) 

Cash on hand: $1.1 million

TX-07

Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D)

Cash on hand: $3.4 million

Wesley Hunt (R)

Cash on hand: $1 million

Their lead in fundraising, replicated in other competitive districts as well, is a good sign that Democrats will have the necessary cash to be able to play both offense and defense going into the November elections. 

The Cook Political report rates both Fletcher and Allred’s district as leaning Democrat. In 2018, Allred ousted GOP incumbent Pete Sessions by almost a seven percentage point margin. Fletcher ousted GOP incumbent John Culberson by a five-point margin.

Photos: US House of Representatives/Wikimedia Commons and MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images