Voters Question Conduct, Record Of Moneyed GOP Senate Bets

Frustrated by the seemingly endless cash flowing to Democrats, Republicans aiming to retake the Senate have rallied around candidates with plenty of their own money, Thomas Beaumont and Brian Slodysko reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The GOP's goal is to neutralize Democrats’ roughly 2-to-1 financial advantage, among the few bright spots for a party defending twice as many Senate seats as Republicans this year.

The goal is to neutralize Democrats’ roughly 2-to-1 financial advantage, among the few bright spots for a party defending twice as many Senate seats as Republicans this year.

But it also risks elevating untested candidates who might not be prepared for the scrutiny often associated with fiercely contested Senate campaigns, Marc Levy, Julie Carr Smyth, and Matthew Brown also reported for AP.

In Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, GOP Senate candidates are being pressed on whether they live in the state. In Montana, the party’s Senate candidate recently admitted lying about the circumstances of a gunshot wound he sustained.

And in Ohio, the Republican contender pitched himself as financially independent but now may be turning to donors for help repaying loans he made to his campaign.

“One of the challenges they face, as opposed to established politicians, is that established politicians have already gone through the process,” said David Winston, a Republican pollster and senior adviser to House Republicans.