AJC is a non-partisan organization that neither supports nor endorses candidates for elective office.
The 2020 election was unprecedented in many ways. Voter turnout reached its highest rate in more than a century, every campaign fundraising and spending record was shattered, and a record-breaking number of female candidates ran for federal office, including an all-time high of women running within the Republican Party. Two days before the election, more than 100 million votes had already been cast by mail, absentee ballot, or in early voting – roughly 70 percent of the total cast in the 2016 elections.
Those who believed that such high voter turnout would signal a blue wave were proven incorrect, judging by the congressional results. While the Senate majority might remain Republican, under the helm of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who defeated his challenger Amy McGrath, the status of a number of Senate seats is still unknown. While Mark Kelly did succeed in beating Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper defeated incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), they were the outlying Democratic wins. Democratic Senate hopefuls, including Jaime Harrison in South Carolina, former Gov. Steve Bullock in Montana, and Cal Cunningham in North Carolina, along with Jewish candidate Al Gross in Alaska, all lost their bids. Alabama Democratic incumbent Sen. Doug Jones in Alabama lost his bid for reelection. Democratic incumbent Sen. Gary Peters narrowly fended off his Republican challenger John James in Michigan in a race that was far more competitive than pollsters predicted. It is worth noting that the fundraising of a number of these Democrats trounced that of their Republican opponents. Democratic candidates and groups spent $6.9 billion, compared to $3.8 billion for Republicans. Even excluding funds from billionaire candidates Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, Democrats spent $5.5 billion.
In the House...
