The 5 House challengers with the biggest campaign treasuries

Congressional challengers are building their war chests more than a year before the 2018 midterms, with Democratic congressional hopefuls especially raking in cash.

Virtually all of the top-earning House challengers so far are Democrats, according to the Federal Election Commission, after excluding candidates who are self-funding. Democrats are making a push to win the 24 net seats they need for control of the House.

{mosads}Early fundraising prowess is an important tool for congressional hopefuls looking to keep out primary rivals, attract donors or send a chill down the spine of their potential opponent from across the aisle. 

Second-quarter fundraising reports ran through June, so there’s still time for new candidates to up their fundraising totals in the third quarter and beyond.

Here are the five House challengers with the biggest war chests right now — all Democrats — and a rundown on how they stack up at this early stage in their electoral bids. 

Antonio Delgado (NY-19) challenging Rep. John Faso

Delgado has raised more money than any other nonincumbent candidate. That’ll be important in his primary bid against seven other candidates, many of whom sport similarly strong resumes and deep pockets.

Delgado, a former Rhodes scholar, works as a litigation attorney at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

His nearly $652,000 haul tops his Republican opponent, Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.). But it does fall short of one candidate in the crowded field, businessman Brian Flynn, when Flynn’s personal loan to his campaign is included. Flynn loaned his campaign $500,000 and raised another $254,000, for a total $754,000.

Democrats held Faso’s seat through 2010, but three separate Republicans have served since, keeping the seat red. President Trump won the district in 2016, while Faso cruised to reelection in what was expected to be a closer race against campaign finance activist Zephyr Teachout. But Democrats are hopeful that a strong candidate and a shifting political mood can help them snatch the district back.

Mike Levin (CA-49) challenging Rep. Darrell Issa 

Levin is eying a challenge to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the former House Oversight Committee Chairman who squeaked by in 2016 in one of the closest races of the cycle.

Issa has been a top target for Democrats, thanks to his frequent clashes with Democrats and a district that often votes blue. As he sought to pivot more toward the center during a tough campaign, Issa won reelection by less than 1 percentage point, while Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton carried the district by more than 7 points.

Levin has so far raised nearly $610,000, in addition to a personal contribution of $10,000. That figure puts him about $200,000 behind Issa.

Levin, a local Democratic Party activist and a clean-energy lawyer, has blasted Issa on climate change and his support for the GOP plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.  

Despite his sizable campaign fund, Levin won’t face an easy primary. He’s running against Doug Applegate, a former Marine colonel whom Issa narrowly defeated last November.

Applegate has shown his own fundraising prowess, too, raising $398,000 through the first six months of 2017, the 10th-largest haul for a House challenger this cycle.

Dean Phillips (MN-3) challenging Rep. Erik Paulsen 

Phillips comes to politics after a successful career in business, where he worked for his family’s liquor distillery and later as the co-owner of the popular gelato company Talenti. Now, he helps run a small Minneapolis coffee chain that touts its commitment to paying employees a “livable wage.”

Phillips is embarking on his first major foray into elected politics after years of donating to Democratic candidates. That could prove to be both a strength, since he has no voting record to attack, and a weakness, if Republicans point to inexperience in government. 

Phillips appears to be the favorite in a primary that includes a local activist and a comedy writer. If he makes it through his first hurdle, he’ll face a tough challenge in Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.). Paulsen first won his seat in 2009 and won reelection in November by 14 points, even as Clinton narrowly won his district.

Phillips posted a solid fundraising haul in the first six months of 2017, raising $534,000, $8,000 of which was his own money. But Paulsen is a prolific fundraiser and raised twice that over the same period of time.  

Daniel McCready (NC-9) challenging Rep. Robert Pittenger 

McCready is another clean-energy expert who is looking to wage an upstart challenge against a Republican incumbent. He’s an Iraq War veteran who started a company that builds solar farms.  

McCready hopes to challenge Rep. Robert Pittenger (N.C.), who cruised to victory in 2016 by 16 percentage points but has found himself in hot water before with controversial comments about police-involved shootings and health care. McCready will face off in a primary against two other candidates, including the Democrat who lost to Pittenger in 2016.

McCready has raised $459,000 so far, with a $7,000 personal contribution, which puts him ahead of both his Democratic challengers and Pittenger.

The incumbent has raised just $334,700 so far this year, but he managed to win reelection in 2016 without a strong fundraising operation. 

Alex Triantaphyllis (TX-7) challenging Rep. John Culberson

Triantaphyllis has the highest early fundraising total in a crowded field of Democrats looking to take on Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas).

An attorney, Triantaphyllis has worked in Houston’s nonprofit world on legal services for immigrants and refugee education.

Campaigning in the Houston-area district has been pushed aside for the time being as the community deals with massive damage from Hurricane Harvey. As the recovery continues, though, Texas’s 7th District will likely be home to another tight primary.

Triantaphyllis and four other Democrats each raised more than $100,000 in the first six months of the year. He raised $451,000 over that time, including almost $2,000 of his own money. The next highest total came from Elizabeth Pannill Fletcher, who raised $366,000.

The winner of the crowded primary takes on Culberson, the eight-term congressman who won by a double-digit margin last cycle. But the district swung heavily toward Clinton in 2016 — she won the district by a margin of less than 2 points — boosting Democratic hopes.