Senators in Four States Rely on Out-of-State Donors for Majority of Funds

Candidates in four major Senate races spent more than $15 million on fundraising advertisements during the 2025-26 election cycle, according to an analysis of Google Ads data. Approximately 75 percent of that spending targeted audiences outside the candidates' home states of Iowa, Georgia, Ohio, and Texas.

The influx of external capital has altered how these officials communicate. For Democratic nominee Josh Turek in Iowa and Senator Jon Ossoff in Georgia, more than 80 percent of itemized individual contributions originated from outside their respective states. This trend is evident in at least four competitive races where a majority of the funding now comes from donors who do not live in the state being contested.

Digital platforms ActBlue and WinRed serve as the primary mechanism for this fundraising. Zachary Albert, a politics professor at Brandeis University, noted that these tools have drastically lowered the cost of soliciting small donations. "ActBlue and WinRed really reduced the transaction costs for contributing," Albert said. He explained that the low overhead makes it financially viable to pursue contributions as small as $5 or $10.

The shift in funding sources has driven a divergence in campaign messaging. Michael Franz of the Wesleyan Media Project observed that candidates use different talking points for local television ads versus national digital ads. "In a general election campaign for a [local] TV ad, a candidate will never say, 'I'm the Democrat,' because they want to appeal to moderates and swing voters and they want voters across the aisle," Franz said. In contrast, digital ads aimed at out-of-state donors frequently emphasize party labels and national political battles.

Specific examples illustrate this split. Former Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, seeking to regain his seat, uses ads to urge voters to turn his state blue. Georgia Representative Mike Collins, a Republican, asks supporters to help make his state's Senate seat red. In Iowa, Republican Representative Ashley Hinson highlights her "America First" credentials, while Ossoff directly attacks President Trump in his fundraising appeals.

Researchers suggest this nationalization of fundraising reflects a change in political success pathways. Daniel Hopkins, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, described a new era where candidates must appeal to two distinct groups: local voters and a nationwide donor base. "When Jon Ossoff is trying to compete for dollars, he's competing for attention and for donations, ultimately with other prominent Democratic candidates," Hopkins said. He noted that political success increasingly relies on tapping into "ATM districts" across the country that generate high volumes of party-specific donations.

The Ossoff campaign stated it is powered by small-dollar donors because the senator refuses money from corporate PACs and federal lobbyists. The campaign denied targeting audiences by location in its statement. Other campaigns in the analyzed races either declined to comment or did not respond to interview requests.

Historically, Democrats led the adoption of out-of-state fundraising through ActBlue, which launched in 2004. Republicans introduced their rival platform, WinRed, in 2019. Sarah Bryner, a director at Public Agenda, attributed the Democratic lead to weaker local funding systems in competitive states and a more diverse voter base. "People from California really don't feel like they have much to do because their state's going to go blue regardless," Bryner said. "So they support candidates in states like Georgia or Texas."