Sen Raphael Warnock Raised $9.5M in the Third Quarter, More than any other Congressional Candidate from Georgia as Millions Pour into Congressional races over a year ahead of the midterms

From [HERE] Millions of dollars flowed into the campaign coffers of Georgia politicians running for the House and Senate during the third quarter. The wave of donations highlights the continued national attention toward the battleground state ahead of the 2022 midterms.  

Leading the pack in fundraising is Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who took in $9.5 million in the third quarter, the most he’s raised in any quarter this year and the most money any candidate from Georgia raised this quarter. 

The freshman senator, who narrowly won his seat in a runoff election in January and gave Democrats their slim majority in the Senate, has raised $22.5 million for his 2022 reelection.

About 49%, $4.6 million, of Warnock’s third quarter haul came from small-dollar donations, or contributions of $200 and less. About $160,825 came from PACs. The Georgia senator spent $2.8 million in the third quarter, leaving his total cash on hand at $17.2 million. 

Warnock was elected alongside Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in a pair of races that were the most expensivein Senate history. Including outside money, Ossoff’s race cost more than $515 million, and Warnock’s cost $370 million, according to OpenSecrets data. 

Ossoff, who is not up for reelection until 2026, took in $1.4 million over the quarter, of which $​​928,536 came in the form of refunds and rebates from vendors. He received $524,837 in total contributions for the period. 

Warnock’s race is one of Republicans’ best chances to regain control of the Senate, which stands at 50-50 control by each party, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting tie-breaking votes. Warnock won his January runoff election against former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) with only 51% of the vote. 

Warnock’s top Republican opponent, former NFL player Herschel Walker, announced his campaign in late August. While Walker’s had less time to fundraise than Warnock, the athlete has drawn on his name recognition and endorsement from former President Donald Trump to boost his early fundraising. 

In just over a month, Walker raised $3.7 million, outpacing all of his opponents in the Republican primary. About 50%, or nearly $1.9 million, came from small-dollar donations. He spent $1.2 million since the start of his campaign, putting his cash on hand at close to $2.5 million. 

Walker’s Facebook campaign page spent almost $290,000 on advertising, according to the social media platform’s advertising library. 

His fundraising has not come without controversy. Last week, Walker canceled a fundraising event with a conservative filmmaker, Bettina Sofia Viviano-Langlais, whose Twitter profile picture contained a rendering of a swastika composed of syringes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.