Top outside groups backing House Republicans vastly outpaces Democratic rivals in fundraising race

EXCLUSIVE – The leading outside group that supports Republicans running for the House of Representatives roughly doubled its Democratic counterpart in fundraising last year.

The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), which is the top super PAC backing House Republicans, along with its non-profit sister organization American Action Network (AAN), brought in $110 million in 2021, according to figures shared first with Fox News on Monday.

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The CLF is building resources to support House Republicans as they aim to regain the chamber's majority in November's midterm elections. 

CLF, which is endorsed by House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and the rest of the House Republican leadership, highlighted that their combined 2021 haul with AAN smashed their previous record of $66 million raised by the two entities. 

The combined $110 million raised last year easily outpaces the $55 million brought in by the House Majority PAC, the top outside group backing House Democrats, and its sister organization House Majority Forward.

CLF also touted that it more than doubled its prior off-election year fundraising record, pulling in $65.5 million in 2021 versus $32.6 million in 2019. And the group said that it ended last year with $61.18 million cash on hand, over two-times more cash on hand than ever before.

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"We’ve shattered every record this year, which is a testament to the turbo-charged enthusiasm behind our effort to win the House and stop out-of-control Democrat rule," CLF President Dan Conston told Fox News in a statement. "CLF heads into 2022 with the beginnings of a war chest and firepower to expand the battlefield deep into Democrat territory and win the Majority for Republicans."

"These numbers are a reflection of just how much more enthusiasm there is behind Republican efforts to win the House than there is behind Democrat efforts to save it," Conston highlighted. "Republicans enter the election year with resources and voter enthusiasm on our side as we work to expand the map deep into Democrat territory."

While Republicans lost the White House and their Senate majority in the 2020 elections, they defied expectations and took a big bite out of the Democrats' large House majority. The GOP now needs a net gain of just five seats in the 435-seat chamber in this year's midterms to recapture the majority it lost in the 2018 election.

As they aim to regain the majority, Republicans have history on their side. On average, the party that wins the White House in a presidential election loses more than 25 House seats in the ensuing midterm election. 

Democrats are also facing a difficult political climate. Recent major setbacks for President Biden and congressional Democrats in their push to pass a sweeping social spending bill, along with the five-month downward spiral of the president’s poll numbers, are doing House Democrats no favors as they try to retain the majority in November.

Following a surge in announcements the past three months, a total of nearly 30 House Democrats have now said they are retiring at the end of this current term, or bidding for another office, rather than run for reelection. That's twice the number of House Republicans who are not running for reelection.

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House retirements are often seen as an early barometer of things to come in the midterms, as competitive seats become even more vulnerable without a well-known and well-financed incumbent running for reelection. The last time the House flipped, amid a blue wave in the 2018 midterms, there were 23 GOP retirements compared to just 10 among House Democrats.