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Happy Friday morning. There are 25 days until Election Day.

How’s this for a statistic: In 17 of the nation’s 31 most competitive House seats, Republicans and pro-GOP outside groups are outspending Democrats and their affiliated groups, according to an AdImpact analysis of broadcast, radio and digital ads provided to Punchbowl News.

The Republican spending advantage comes as the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC affiliated with House GOP leaders, is outraising its Democratic counterpart, House Majority PAC, by $86 million. While the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee – the official campaign arm – has outraised the National Republican Campaign Committee, super PACs can dole out major sums on TV ads and get-out-the-vote operations in campaign crunch time.

To get an idea of how the GOP’s funding edge matters, look where the fight for control of the House is playing out. Republicans have to net five seats in order to be in the majority come Jan. 3.

The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter lists 31 battleground House districts as “toss-ups.” Of these seats, 21 are classified as “Democratic toss-ups” and 10 are “Republican toss-ups.”

Democrats are outspending Republicans in 14 of their 21 toss-ups, but Republicans maintain an edge in all 10 of their toss-up seats.

The seven Democratic toss-ups where the GOP is outspending Democrats include seats held currently by Reps. Jared Golden (Maine), Chris Pappas (N.H.), Dina Titus (Nev.), Susan Wild (Pa.) and Matt Cartwright (Pa.). Additionally, the same thing is happening in open seats for Pennsylvania’s 17th District and Ohio’s 13th District.

While the spending data shows a GOP advantage, there is undoubtedly much more ad spending to come in the next three weeks that could shake up these stats.

Part of the Democratic dilemma is simple math. The party has 11 more toss-up seats to defend compared to Republicans. Plus, Democrats have to protect a wider field of incumbents.

Republican officials hailed the spending edge as an example of a coordinated GOP effort.

“The entire GOP ecosystem has worked in lockstep to ensure Republicans have the resources necessary to prosecute the case against Democrats’ policies that have made life worse for every American family,” NRCC Communications Director Michael McAdams said.

“Democrats are being outspent because their donors see the writing on the wall,” CLF Communications Director Calvin Moore added. “Strong candidates and great fundraising are now forcing Democrats to make tough choices about where to spend and where to bail.”

House Democrats, for their part, say that the ad spending data doesn’t present the full picture of what’s happening. They point to Republicans’ overwhelming cash advantage and say that despite being outraised, Democrats aren’t being outspent as badly as feared in the most critical districts. Democrats also believe their candidates, and the issues they’re focusing on, give them an edge.

Here’s DCCC Executive Director Tim Persico:

Here’s HMP Executive Director Abby Curran Horrell:

A note: Some of the spending we’re seeing in these competitive House races is just bonkers. Truly mind-blowing. These are House districts with TV ad spending levels that you used to see in Senate or gubernatorial campaigns not that long ago.

Here are some examples: $33.6 million has been shelled out in Pappas’ race; $31.4 million in Rep. Susie Lee’s (D-Nev.) race; $30.6 million in Golden’s race; $28.7 million in Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s (D-Mich.) race; and $23.9 million in Angie Craig’s (D-Minn.) race.

That’s close to $150 million in just five districts, with several weeks to go. So yes, gerrymandering has left fewer truly competitive districts. And in those swing districts, the amount of money being spent can be staggering.

Last night: President Joe Biden did a DCCC fundraiser in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles last night. In attendance were Speaker Nancy Pelosi and DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney, among other House Democrats.

“Please, please, please keep a Democratic House of Representatives,” Biden implored donors, adding that Pelosi was “the single best speaker in American history.”

Update: The DNC on Thursday transferred another $1 million to the DSCC and DCCC. They’ve already given the committees $7.5 million each. This latest move comes amid complaints from the DCCC via our newsletter Monday that they want the DNC to transfer a total of $16 million. That would match the RNC’s contribution to the NRCC this cycle.

— Max Cohen

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