Outside interest groups also target races on both sides with issue ads. In contests such as Wisconsin 2, Nevada 1 and Ohio 6, the GOP has run a solid month's worth of extremely biting spots. A look at their comparative fund-raising tells the story. The question is do you have enough money to play in the districts that are really in question, and in those districts do you have enough money to tell your story and we feel that we do. To have this many Democrat seats in play we think is a sign of the effectiveness of what we've done.
Individual races offer a dramatic portrait of how party money can bolster an individual campaign.
Republicans hold 55 of the 100 Senate seats. That is not to say all Republicans are satisfied with the aid they are receiving from the party. You'd think that the majority party that controls the United States Senate would be able to raise enough money to fully fund their viable candidates. Democrats meanwhile, are hoping their cheaper, voter turnout efforts can compete with the GOP media onslaught. But the Republican ad wave can still be intimidating.