But it is a lot of fun for the incumbents themselves. Part of this fund raising is pre-emptive. Part of the fund raising is convenience. Corporations and PACs are desperate to fund winners. And part of it is sycophantic.
Incumbents collect cash so they can dole it out to colleagues in tough races.
Next year's committee assignments depend on this year's giving. Such donations butter up the recipients, who will return the favor one day. There's no better evidence of the incumbents' easy life than how they are spending the election run-up. The House has remained in session, as GOP leaders and the White House war over the budget. You'd expect that anxious members of Congress would acquiesce to anything in order to end the session and get home to campaign.