With the impeachment trial over and President Donald Trump acquitted on a near party-line vote, Republicans and Democrats are turning their sights on 2020. The battle for the Senate will hinge on a handful of close contests that may be impacted by senators’ impeachment votes. 

Republicans are taking aim at Doug Jones (D-Ala.) over his vote to convict Trump and pressuring other Democratic Senate challengers to say how they would vote. National Democrats are attacking several vulnerable GOP senators over their votes to acquit Trump and deny witnesses.

Including current Senate candidates, Republicans narrowly lead in total fundraising through the end of 2019, bringing in $151 million collectively to Democrats’ $148 million. But in key toss-up races, some vulnerable Republicans are doing better than others. 

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who voted to hear witnesses but voted to acquit Trump, has already raised $10.8 million this cycle, a personal record. Taking in 83 percent of her money from PACs and large individual contributions, Collins has $7.2 million cash on hand. That’s far more than her best funded Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, who has $2.8 million in the bank. Collins is boosted by nearly $701,000 in outside spending by a super PAC that received substantial funds from an unknown limited liability company.  

Collins announced she would acquit Trump with the caveat that Trump learned a “pretty big lesson” from impeachment. Trump responded to her comments by saying he did nothing wrong, prompting Collins to slightly walk back her statement. Gideon announced her support for convicting Trump after Collins announced she’d acquit him. 

In another toss up race, Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) is losing the fundraising battle to Democratic challenger Mark Kelly. The Republican incumbent has raised big money and has $7.7 million in the bank. But Kelly, a former astronaut and husband to former congresswoman and gun control activist Gabby Giffords, has raised $20.1 million, more than any congressional candidate. Kelly has $13.6 million in the bank. He has not announced how he would have voted on impeachment. 

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) represents a state Trump lost by 5 points, making him a top target of Democratic groups dating back to the start of the 2020 cycle. Boosted by $3.4 million in PAC money, Gardner has nearly $7.8 million on hand. Former Gov. John Hickenlooper, who entered the race relatively late after giving up his presidential aspirations, has $3.2 million. Gardner kept a low profile during the impeachment proceedings before voting to acquit Trump. However he was tripped up last fall when a Colorado reporter asked him if it was appropriate for the president to ask a foreign leader to investigate a political rival. 

Democratic group MoveOn launched an ad campaign Wednesday to unseat the three Republicans locked in toss-up races, calling their votes to acquit Trump “disgraceful.” That follows a barrage of political ads during the leadup to impeachment and even more ads meant to pressure senators’ votes in the trial.  

Alabama’s Jones was among several senators facing impeachment attack ads from “dark money” groups during the trial. Jones, who represents a state that Trump won by more than 28 points in 2016, voted to convict Trump along with other red-state Democrats. Funded mostly by out-of-state donors, Jones has more than twice as much cash on hand as any of his Republican challengers, who face off in a primary on March 3. 

In a 2017 special election, Jones beat former Alabama Supreme Court justice Roy Moore, who was accused of sexual misconduct by several women when they were teenagers. Moore is running again against the GOP’s wishes, but most internal polls have him below other Republicans, and his campaign has just $44,000 in the bank. 

In other close races, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is outraising Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham, and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich) is barely edging out likely Republican opponent John James. The Michigan Senate race is already flush with allegations of unlawful campaign coordination with dark money groups. 

Notably, Democratic donors and groups are putting serious resources into Kentucky, where Trump has a 55 percent approval rating. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is barely outraising Democratic challenger Amy McGrath, who brought in nearly $16.9 million. McConnell, the top recipient of PAC money, has $11.6 million on hand to McGrath’s $9.1 million. 

So far the Republican leader has been attacked by nearly $2 million in independent expenditures, more than any other senator. 

The newest member of the senate, Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) is gearing up for a long election campaign as she will face a tough primary challenge from Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.). Loeffler was appointed in January following the retirement of Johnny Isakson. She has already poured $5 million of her own money into her campaign. 
If Loeffler is able to defeat Collins in the primary, she is not guaranteed to keep her Senate seat, as the Cook Political Report lists Georgia’s Senate race as leaning Republican. Her top Democratic opponent, son of former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) Matthew Lieberman, has less than $370,000 on hand.

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