Should wealthy Republicans put MILLIONS of their own money into their Senate ... trends now

As Republicans set their sights on flipping the Senate come November, they've recruited an selection of GOP Senate candidates who are willing to put millions of dollars of their own money into bids to unseat Democrats.

While using personal wealth to fund campaigns is not new, it has taken a more prominent role in politics as races for public office have grown increasingly more expensive and Democrats have trounced Republicans in fundraising in a series of recent election cycles.

This year, nearly all the Republican candidates looking to unseat Democrats in the biggest battleground Senate races are putting their own money into their bids. 

They've already put a combined nearly $16 million of their own money toward their races. 

But putting personal fortunes toward political aspirations has had mixed success and has, in some cases, been a headache as candidates have had to counter attacks about potential conflicts of interest.

In Wisconsin, Republican Eric Hovde is running to unseat Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin. 

The businessman and banker, who is CEO of his family's real estate development company and Sunwest Bank which operates in the western U.S. and Florida, loaned his campaign $8 million in the first three months of the year.

It makes up the vast majority of the money raised by the campaign since he launched his bid in February. Only $1 million has come from donors.

This is not the first time Hovde has put his own millions into a Senate bid. 

The businessman put more than $5.5 million into a failed bid back in 2012. 

In Pennsylvania, David McCormick has loaned his own Senate campaign more than $1.9 million so far. 

McCormick previously served as the CEO of one of the biggest hedge funds Bridgewater Associates and was an Under Secretary of the Treasury under President Bush. 

But fueling his own money into a political campaign has not always been a sure win for him. 

In 2022, McCormick lost the Republican Senate primary to Dr. Mehmet Oz even as he loaned his campaign more than $14 million.

Self-funding a campaign also did not prove to be fail safe more recently in the Ohio Senate primary. 

Trump-backed businessman Bernie Moreno won the primary last month beating out Matt Dolan in a close race where Dolan put $10.2 million of his own money into his campaign.

But Moreno also had a leg-up in the three-way race as well. 

He has put $4.5 million into his own Senate bid through the end of March. 

Meanwhile, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose perhaps started that three-way race with the most name recognition, but he didn't have the personal wealth to compete the same way.

In Montana, Republican Tim Sheehy has loaned his campaign more than $1.4 million in the election cycle to date. 

Sheehy is the CEO of Bridger Aerospace, aerial firefighting company with multiple government contracts that went public with a valuation of nearly $900 million last year. 

Financial disclosures also show he has a number of investment and business holdings. If elected, Sheehy would be one of Congress' wealthiest members. 

In total, the four Republicans looking to unseat incumbent Senate Democrats have put up some $15.8 million for their campaigns in races that are expected to be some of the most expensive in the country.

'Every election the Democrats have virtually unlimited campaign funds, super PAC dollars and dark money at their disposal to smear our Republican candidates,' said Mike Berg, communications director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. 

'That is why NRSC put an emphasis on recruiting candidates who are either strong fundraisers or have the ability to make a personal investment in their campaign this time round,' he added. 

While challengers are putting their own money where their mouths are, filings show Florida Senator Rick Scott, who is also up for re-election this year, loaned his own campaign more than $6.9 million this cycle, though not this year.

Scott is an example of a self-funding candidate who has been successful. During his 2018 campaign, he put $51 million of his own money into the race, but won the race by only 10,000 votes, triggering an

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