The Democrats who won with a fraction of their opponents' cash

Some of the midterms' biggest upsets came from candidates who were outraised by as much as 50-to-1.

• Democrat LaKesha Womack leads Republican Rep. Tim Moore in North Carolina's 14th congressional district despite raising just $59,000 compared to Moore's $3 million.
• In Tennessee, Democrat Victoria Broderick narrowly leads longtime Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais despite raising $94,217 through mid-October compared to DesJarlais' $660,000. DesJarlais beat Broderick by 40 percentage points in 2024.

• In Alabama state House races, Democrats Allison Montgomery and Nell Brown won despite being heavily outraised by Republican incumbents. Montgomery raised just $23,150 compared with Phillip Rigsby's $215,501, while Brown raised $11,040 compared with Leigh Hulsey's $185,123, according to campaign finance data.
• In Michigan, Democrat William Lawrence defeated Republican Rep. Tom Barrett despite raising about $4.2 million compared with Barrett's $8.2 million.

The other side: Republican Rep. Clay Fuller defeated Democratic challenger Shawn Harris, who outraised the incumbent $8.42 million to $2.16 million.

Zoom out: In Texas, Gina Hinojosa defeated longtime Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to become Texas' first Latina governor, despite being outspent 5-to-1 on advertising dollars, per AP.

• In Georgia, Republican Rick Jackson lost to Keisha Lance Bottoms despite outraising her $222 million to $11.7 million through their principal campaign committees. Jackson's total included substantial self-funding.

Between the lines: The fundraising disparities don't capture the full financial picture. National political organizations and committees also inject funds into candidates' races.

• Hinojosa received $1 million from the Democratic Governors Association, along with $1.2 million from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
• Bottoms benefited from more than $15 million in contributions from the DGA to a separate leadership committee supporting her campaign.

Reality check: Spending still matters, even if it does not guarantee victory.

• A 2024 study examining U.S. House elections from 2000 to 2018 found that higher campaign spending was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of winning.