In the sprint to Nov. 4, both parties are heaping mounds of cash on their state affiliates. With this election cycle shaping up to be the most expensive in history in terms of spending on congressional races, some state parties are now raising unprecedented amounts of money.
In fickle Alaska, both national parties are leaving no stone unturned and no dollar unspent. In the first half of October, the Alaska Republican Party received more than $1 million from national party committees. The $400,000 gift from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the nearly $685,000 donation from the Republican National Committee were both staggering amounts by Alaska standards. Each exceeded the amount the party had ever raised in any full month.
Similarly, the Alaska Democratic Party raised almost $900,000 in the first two weeks of October, counting a more than $725,000 gift from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Only twice — during the presidential election cycles of 2004 and 2008 — had the party’s monthly fundraising exceeded that amount.
![Sen. Mark Pryor (D) receiving the endorsement of an Arkansas fire fighters' local unit last week. (AP Photo/The El Dorado News-Times, Michael Orrell)](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/dentonfracking/20141030000457im_/http://www.opensecrets.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/pryor.ap_.jpg)
Sen. Mark Pryor (D) receiving the endorsement of an Arkansas fire fighters’ local unit last week. (AP Photo/The El Dorado News-Times, Michael Orrell)
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Arkansas raised almost $1.9 million in the same two weeks, including $1.3 million coming directly from the DSCC. The last time it raised more was in 2002, the year Sen. Mark Pryor (D) first wrested the seat from former Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R).
The Kansas Republican Party jolted into action after Democratic nominee Chad Taylor dropped out, jeopardizing Sen. Pat Roberts‘ re-election prospects. Now, it has raised close to $470,000 in the first two weeks of October after pulling in more than $550,000 in September. Again, the party — which was run by a two-person office before the race kicked into gear — had never raised such amounts in the past. Its monthly receipts last cycle hovered around $30,000.