I’ve chronicled how the 2015 “Cromnibus” bill appears to have contributed to a sharp increase in spending on election litigation. The bill allowed additional contributions to “election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings,” above and beyond individual candidate campaign contribution limits.

The 2021 totals are in, and the Federal Election Commission reports more than $82 million in contributions to accounts of national party committees. The breakdown:

DNC: $33,495,837

RNC: $6,448,304

DSCC: $5,564,770

NRSC: $8,424,016

DCCC: $14,165,452

NRCC: $14,003,120

Democratic National Party Totals: $53,226,059

Republican National Party Totals: $28,875,439

[other: $5,551]

Grand Total: $82,107,050

It’s worth noting that in 2019, the last off-year cycle, the parties collected just over $32 million, so this represents a massive off-cycle bump.

And it’s worth noting that in the presidential election year of 2020, the parties collected $85 million.

The Democratic groups have been at a 2-to-1 advantage this cycle. In 2019-2020, Republican-affiliated groups edged out Democratic-affiliated groups, $64 million to $53 million.