Republicans are spending tens of millions of dollars in the final days of the campaign to rescue three red-state senators who party insiders say ignored months of warnings, according to Axios.
Senate races in Kansas, South Carolina and Mississippi are normally easy GOP wins. This year, national Republicans have pulled money away from swing-state battles to shore up Sens. Roger Marshall, Darline Graham and Cindy Hyde-Smith as polls show a nationwide backlash against President Donald Trump.
“Democrats may win these seats in a wave ... but not a blue wave,” said a national GOP operative involved in several key Senate races. “It’s the wave of arrogance [and] laziness ... that washed over these GOP incumbents and made them think they were invincible.”
National Republicans have spent $33 million in Kansas, $21 million in South Carolina and $2.4 million in Mississippi, according to campaign finance expert Rob Pyers. Trump has also spent valuable campaign time in all three states.
Republicans say the three senators brushed off repeated warnings to raise more money and build stronger campaigns. In February 2025, National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Tim Scott told GOP senators: “We do not need to spend time and money in places where races should not be competitive.”
Most of the complaints are about Marshall. He has raised just $7.5 million, compared with $19 million for his Democratic opponent, Adam Hamilton. About a month ago, Marshall’s team told other GOP senators’ aides that its opposition research on Hamilton would end the race within 10 days. It didn’t. His campaign has since brought in veteran Trump operative Chris Grant for a last-minute rescue.
Hyde-Smith has raised just $6.5 million in Mississippi. Democratic groups have poured $13.7 million into the race. Republicans fault her for holding too few events and underestimating her opponent, district attorney Scott Colom.
In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews outraised Graham $4.2 million to $570,000 in the first two weeks of October. Republicans say Graham failed to tap the donor network of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. Some are sympathetic: Graham is a political novice who was thrust into the Senate, and they blame Trump for pushing her to run.
Graham’s spokesperson said the senator “has faced unprecedented headwinds since losing her brother three months ago, and has risen to the occasion.”
Top Republicans say the party has to rethink how it handles complacent incumbents, and make clear that its campaign groups can’t be treated like a charity.