Tammy Baldwin, Debbie Stabenow, Tina Smith have big Senate election leads

Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call Group | Getty Images

Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., prepares for a CQ podcast with Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., in Hart Building on July 12, 2018.

• Michigan: Sen. Debbie Stabenow tries to hold her seat in another state the president won by less than a percentage point. An NBC/Marist poll indicates she may have little trouble against either of her potential opponents as of now. Fifty-five percent of registered voters responded that they would back Stabenow, versus 37 percent who said they would support veteran and businessman John James, the survey said. Against businessman Sandy Pensler, the Democrat garners 52 percent of support, compared with 37 percent for Pensler. Michigan holds its primaries on Aug. 7.
• Minnesota: Sen. Tina Smith — who was appointed to fill Al Franken’s seat following his resignation at the start of the year — also has a comfortable cushion, according to an NBC/Marist poll. Smith is running in a special election, as Franken’s term was not set to end until 2020. Forty-nine percent of registered voters support Smith, versus 35 percent who back her likely opponent, businesswoman Karin Housley, the survey says. The survey did not poll voters on the race for Democrat Amy Klobuchar’s seat, which is considered safe for Democrats. Minnesota will hold its primaries on Aug. 14.

The polls are more good news for the Democrats running in the three states, who enjoy a huge cash advantage over their opponents.

In Wisconsin, Baldwin has a big financial lead over possible opponents Nicholson and Vukmir. Baldwin had raised more than $21 million as of the end of June, and had roughly $7.2 million in in cash on hand. That compares with roughly $5 million raised by both opponents combined, who each had less than $1 million in cash on hand.

But the Wisconsin Senate race has drawn a surge of so-called outside spending from super PACs that don’t have limits on what they raise or spend, often on TV and digital advertising campaigns. As of June 30, some $6.4 million in soft money had been spent in support of Nicholson and $1.4 million to boost Vukmir’s campaign, while only $1 million had been spent to support Baldwin. Some $4.3 million went toward opposing Baldwin, compared with $2.4 million opposing Vukmir and $451,000 against Nicholson.

In Michigan, Stabenow has a solid fundraising lead with nearly $15 million in cash taken in and $9.6 million in cash on hand, as of June 30. Her GOP challengers, Pensler and James, had raised $9.1 million between them and ended June with a combined $3.6 million.

Stabenow also benefited from outside spending of $1.4 million supporting her campaign; her opponents drew less than $300,00 in outside spending to the race.