By Alex J. Rouhandeh
National Political Correspondent
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Back in 1962 following a Midterm election year when Republicans were still competitive in California, Democratic State Assembly Speaker Jesse "Big Daddy" Unruh coined the famous phrase, "money is the mother’s milk of politics." It proved prescient, as the influence of money in elections only grew in the decades that followed.
Most notably, in 2010, the Supreme Court struck down Section 203 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, that barred corporations, labor unions, and other organizations from paid "electioneering communications" in the landmark case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That decision effectively gave birth to the $100 million+ campaigns we know today.
While conventional wisdom has long been that the candidate who raises big wins big, that seemingly objective truth only became more obvious in the post-Citizens United era as Super PACs—with their unlimited fundraising abilities—have flooded airwaves with political ads.
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That’s why many Democrats were sweating over the GOP’s two to one outside money advantage. However, that advantage seems to be doing little to move the needle this time around.
It’s been reported that despite spending half a billion dollars on campaigns a month ago, Republicans have seen little gain in election polling. That phenomenon sits downstream of another this Newsweek reporter has covered over the 2026 cycle of candidates with smaller balances winning races on account of superior campaign infrastructure.
By investing in person-to-person grassroots outreach and in-person events, candidates have been able to break out of a media ecosystem crowded with ads through direct contact with voters and earned coverage. These races offer evidence that Unruh’s statement may not hold the resonance of years past.
New York City Democratic Mayoral Primary
The race that really kicked off this break with orthodoxy was the 2025 Democratic Primary for New York Mayor. Zohran Mamdani, a once little-known state assemblyman, was facing off against Andrew Cuomo, a former governor and scion of one of New York’s most famed political dynasties. Cuomo and allied PACs outspent Mamdani and allies $31.5 million to $7.8 million. Even after Mamdani sealed the Democratic nomination, forcing Cuomo to run as an independent, that funding pace continued into the general election where Mamdani still won handsomely.
Cuomo’s strategy largely focused on running advertisements. Meanwhile, Mamdani secured a volunteer base of 50,000 that knocked on doors 1.6 million times, holding 247,000 conversations at those doors. During that period Mamdani built up a social media presence that now boasts several million followers on major platforms while earning media coverage for his leftist policies and insurgent campaign. "I played it safe," Cuomo admitted after his loss. "I didn't do enough to reach out to the younger people."
Texas Republican Senate Primary
This cycle saw the most expensive Republican Primary in U.S. history as Attorney General Ken Paxton fought Senator John Cornyn for the Senate nomination. A four-term incumbent in Texas, Cornyn is well-liked by his peers on Capitol Hill and boasts a lengthy resume of achievements while Paxton carried a laundry list of scandals, including being impeached by the GOP-controlled Texas House, yet holds MAGA’s adoration. MAGA doesn’t mean money, however, as this $99 million race saw Cornyn and his establishment allies outspend the Paxton team nine to one.
That spending worked in the primary—which also included a third candidate, Congressman Wesley Hunt—where Cornyn beat Paxton by a point. However, ahead of the runoff, President Donald Trump pledged his endorsement to Paxton, propelling the AG to a 64 to 36 percent victory. As this reporter covered, the structure of the Texas Republican Party empowers its grassroots. That coalition was emphatically behind Paxton and rallied its troops to ultimately turn out voters in his favor despite Cornyn’s argument that Paxton could lose in the general election. If current polling proves accurate, Cornyn will be right.
Michigan Democratic Senate Primary
Sure enough, this Midterms cycle also set a spending record for Democrats as the battle between Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive, and Congresswoman Haley Stevens, a moderate, racked up $80 million in spending. All cycle, the race drew headlines as El-Sayed, a skilled orator, mocked Stevens’ communication skills and criticized her ties to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Nonetheless, she drew nearly $64 million in ad support compared with El-Sayed’s over $7 million—a nine-to-one advantage.
The Election Day margin was slim, with El-Sayed winning by just a point. However, he pulled it off and did so by pulling together a coalition of voters frustrated with the status quo.
"At the end of the day, people are going to vote for somebody who they think actually cares about solving their problem, not trying to curry favor with some party or another," El-Sayed told this reporter.
That message proved energizing as El-Sayed took the campaign to over 70 municipalities in the state, securing 1,500 volunteer sign-ups in the process. He’ll once again rely on that energy as he faces former Congressman Mike Rogers in the general. El-Sayed currently holds a three-point lead in the Real Clear Polling average.
Iowa Republican Gubernatorial Primary
Zach Lahn, a Republican businessman, trails his Democratic challenger, State Auditor Rob Sand, by eight points in the polling average. Nevertheless, he previously did something quite unusual. He bested his opponent, Congressman Randy Feenstra in the GOP Primary despite being on the wrong end of Trump’s endorsement and being outspent $4.9. million to $3.1 million. Once again, direct contact with voters and a close relationship with the base proved to be a difference maker.
Running on an "Iowa First" message that challenged Big Agriculture and Big Pharma, Lahn drew the support of Make America Healthy Again Action, the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-aligned 501(c)4 that mobilizes volunteers to boost turnout for candidates who support its causes. As the campaign continued Lahn increasingly messaged on MAHA issues at his rallies, drawing a dedicated base of support that ultimately carried him through the primary.
November's Election
General elections are different from primaries and are often more heavily dictated by political independents than intraparty races defined by the party base. However, many of the financial parameters and strategies of those primaries will mirror the environment of the general. Trump-aligned super PAC MAGA Inc. alone has nearly $416 million in the bank, as Republicans place well ahead of Democrats in the cash race.
Nonetheless, the Democratic National Committee has been investing heavily in state parties as it aims to build permanent campaign infrastructure to meet voters where they are.
"We don’t need to outraise the Republicans," DNC Chair Ken Martin told this reporter. "We just need enough money to compete; to make the investments we need to build the infrastructure that we need to around the county."
Democrats are currently favored to retake both the House and the Senate, the latter of which was thought the be highly improbable at the start of the year. If those forecasts do indeed prove correct, then so too may it be proved that organizing is the mother’s milk of politics.
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