First on Fox: McConnell-aligned groups raise record $50M in August to battle for Senate majority
Mitch McConnell has not lost his fundraising touch, as 2 outside groups aligned with the longtime GOP Senate leader report raising record hauls
McConnell returns to Capitol Hill after freezing incident
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has the latest on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., giving a speech on Capitol Hill after a health scare on 'Your World.'
EXCLUSIVE – Two outside groups aligned with longtime Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell report that they have brought in nearly $50 million in fundraising in August in the race to build resources as Republicans aim to win back the chamber’s majority in the 2024 elections.
Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top super PAC backing Senate Republican incumbents and candidates, and the affiliated non-profit public advocacy group One Nation, combined raised $49.36 million in paid and pledged donations last month, according to figures shared first with FOX Business on Wednesday. The groups say last month’s haul is a record for August of a nonelection year.
The two groups combined raked in roughly $38 million so far in 2023, which organizers say is also a nonelection fundraising record. The figures are another indication that there has been no slowdown in fundraising by outside groups aligned with McConnell.
"Our donors have immense respect for Leader McConnell, as evidenced by our record fundraising in the first half of 2023 as well as this August. No one is outworking the Leader when it comes to retaking the Senate majority," Senate Leadership Fund president and CEO Steven Law said in a statement.
REPUBLICANS GET A BOOST IN BATTLEGROUND MICHIGAN IN THE BATTLE FOR THE SENATE MAJORITY
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks as he introduces Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at the Heritage Foundation on Oct. 21, 2021 in Washington, D.C. ( Drew Angerer/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
However, the 81-year-old McConnell — the longest serving major party Senate leader in history — has been making plenty of headlines in recent weeks for his health rather than his well-known fundraising prowess.
McConnell grabbed national attention after freezing last week in front of TV cameras at an event in his home state of Kentucky. It was his second health scare this year captured by the media.
BLUE TO RED: FOUR SEATS REPUBLICANS MAY FLIP IN 2024 TO WIN BACK THE SENATE MAJORITY
The incidents have raised questions about whether McConnell could continue to hold his powerful position steering the Senate GOP conference. However, Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, said in a letter this week that there was no evidence McConnell has a seizure disorder, experienced a stroke or suffered from a movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease.
Sen. John Barrasso, center left, reached out to help Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell after he froze and stopped talking at the microphones during a news conference after a lunch meeting with Senate Republicans U.S. Capitol in July. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority in the chamber, which includes three independent senators who caucus with the Democratic conference.
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That means Republicans need a net gain of either one or two seats in 2024 to win back the majority — depending on which party controls the White House after next year's presidential election.
The math and the map favor the GOP in 2024. Democrats are defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs, including three in red states and a handful in key general election battlegrounds.