Campaign finance: Louisiana congressional incumbents raise $60M for Nov. 8 election

Louisiana's incumbent members of Congress have raised more than $60 million to protect their seats, giving them the ability to reach virtually every voter by blanketing the TV airwaves with campaign ads before the Nov. 8 election.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy has broken all Louisiana records by raising $36.3 million, but incumbent Republican U.S. Reps. Garret Graves, Julia Letlow and Steve Scalise have raised $1.75 million or more (Scalise has raised $18.1 million), incumbent Democratic Rep. Troy Carter has raised $2.93 million and Republican U.S Rep. Clay Higgins has raised $870,819.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Luke Mixon has managed to raise $1.8 million and buy spots in every major Louisiana TV market and Holden Hoggatt, a Republican challenging Higgins, has raised enough for a TV presence in the 3rd Congressional District, but so far no other challengers have any significant presence on paid TV.

But that doesn't mean those who can't afford TV can't reach voters on other platforms.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Gary Chambers Jr. has been able to raise $1.55 million by generating national buzz and earned TV time through the success of provocative ads like the one of him smoking marijuana that drew millions of views.

Democrat Katie Darling, who's challenging Scalise, had similar success through social media with a campaign ad featuring Darling giving birth to her second child.

Will those millions of social media views translate to votes? We'll find out Nov. 8.

Following are the latest campaign finance reports from the candidates in each congressional race:

U.S. Senate (statewide): Incumbent Republican John Kennedy has raised $36.3 million, a Louisiana record for any campaign, with $15.5 million cash on hand; Luke Mixon, a Democrat, has raised 1.8 million with $590,148 cash on hand; and Gary Chambers, a Democrat, has raised $1.55 million with $20,415 on hand.

First Congressional District (New Orleans suburbs and parts of Bayou country): Incumbent Republican Steve Scalise has raised $18.1 million with $4.7 million cash on hand; and Katie Darling, a Democrat, has raised $36,657 with $8,603 cash on hand.

Second Congressional District (city of New Orleans and parts of Baton Rouge): Incumbent Democrat Troy Carter has raised $2.93 million with $615,058 cash on hand; and Dan Lux, a Republican, has raised $29,915 with $9,227 cash on hand.

Third Congressional District (Acadiana and southwestern Louisiana): Incumbent Republican Clay Higgins has raised $870,819 with $314,102 cash on hand; Holden Hoggatt, a Republican, has raised $140,914 with $79,095 cash on hand; Tia Marie LeBrun, a Democrat, has raised $28,645 with $10,903 cash on hand; and Thomas Layne Payne, a Republican, has raised $13,095 with $3,459 cash on hand.

Fourth Congressional District (Shreveport-Bossier City is the population hub): Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson was unopposed and automatically reelected, but he has raised $1.28 million with $906,346 cash on hand.

Fifth Congressional District (Monroe and Alexandria are the population hubs): Incumbent Republican Julia Letlow has raised $2.63 million with $1.16 million cash on hand; no other candidate filed a report.

Sixth Congressional District (Baton Rouge and Bayou Country): Incumbent Republican Garret Graves raised $1.75 million with $2.6 million cash on hand; no other candidate filed a report.

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1 

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana congressional incumbents raised $60M for Nov. 8 election