With a little less than two weeks before Election Day, the Pennsylvania Senate race has set a new spending record of $113 million by candidate committees and independent groups.
Incumbent Republican Sen. Patrick J. Toomey is in a tight race against Democratic challenger Katie McGinty that could determine who controls the Senate in the next Congress.
The race has already surpassed the previous most expensive race from 2014, when Sen. Thom Tillis won in North Carolina, Federal Election Commission data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics shows.
RealClearPolitics average of polls from Oct. 4-19 have Toomey with a 1.8 point lead over McGinty. Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report/Roll Call rates the race as Tossup.
Close Senate races in other states are drawing huge spending amounts, as well, CNBC reported. Aside from Pennsylvania, four of the top 10 spending races _ New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, and Florida _ have each exceeded $50 million in spending.
In Florida and Ohio, the fourth- and fifth-highest spending races, Republican incumbents Sen. Marco Rubio and Rob Portman have sizable leads. Rubio has a 3.6-point lead over Democrat Patrick Murphy and Portman has a much larger 15.8-point lead over Democrat Ted Strickland, according to RealClearPolitics averages of October polls.
The other five races range from around $24 million to $44 million in spending. The majority of spending in the top 10 most expensive races come from outside groups, such as political action committees and independent organizations.
Eight of the 10 races have incumbent Republicans trying to hold onto their seats amid a presidential race in which Republican nominee Donald Trump is losing ground.
