U.S. House Republican campaign groups raise record money for mid-term races

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Two major Republican outside groups aligned with Speaker Paul Ryan have raised a total of 66 million dollars last year, a record haul that the party will need in efforts to maintain a majority in the House in the forthcoming congressional mid-term elections.

The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) pulled in 26 million dollars in 2017. An affiliated group, the American Actions Network (AAN), brought in another 40 million dollars, according to a reporb by The Hill news website on Tuesday.

"Knowing history is against us, CLF's field program has laid the groundwork to protect the Republican House majority well ahead of Election Day, opening 27 field offices and making over five million voter contacts to date," CLF and AAN Executive Director Corry Bliss said in a statement.

"AAN is well-prepared to continue to promote the conservative policies of House leadership, and CLF is ready to ensure Republicans maintain the majority in 2018," the statement read.

House Republicans will have to defend at least 30 open seats this year due to retirements, resignations or lawmakers seeking other offices, while Democrats will only have to contend with about half as many open seats.

In total, the Democratic party needs to pick up 24 seats so as to take control of the House in the next two years.

In U.S. political history, the party that controls the White House has always struggled to maintain seats in Congress in mid-term elections. Enditem