Over a dozen candidates seeking the White House or Congress in 2024 are armed with over $51 million in combined war chest cash they gifted or loaned to their campaigns, a Washington Examiner analysis of campaign finance disclosures finds.

The presidential or congressional hopefuls included in the analysis have all self-funded their campaigns to the tune of $100,000 or more in 2023. The analysis counts three candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination, two Democratic and Republican Senate candidates each, as well as four House candidates each from both parties.

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"Traditionally, candidates who rely on their own money tend to lose," Sarah Bryner, research and strategy director for OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan elections tracker, told the Washington Examiner. Bryner noted there are obvious exceptions, including former President Donald Trump in 2016, Rep. David Trone (D-MD), Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), and Gov. J. B. Pritzker (D-IL).

Self-funded candidates are often aiming to bolster their national profiles by shelling out large sums of money to appear on TV, according to Bryner. Still, the cohort may "up the stakes for other candidates," even though they may on average be less likely to succeed, she said, citing how billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spent $1.1 billion running for president in 2020, "which ate up a lot of media time and inundated voters with his advertisements and content."

As far as the presidential race, 37-year-old entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy loaned his campaign more than $15 million, including $10.5 million in the first quarter of 2023, followed by his recent $5 million loan in the second quarter, according to filings. The loan accounted for the bulk of his total second quarter haul of $7.7 million.

Ramaswamy, who is estimated to be worth at least $630 million and made his fortune from the financial and biotech industries, is polling at 4.1% for the Republican Party nomination, according to a RealClearPolitics survey average. He ended the second quarter with roughly $9 million in cash on hand.

"Vivek has north of 65K donors, 40% of whom have never donated to a Republican candidate or any political candidate at all," Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Ramaswamy campaign, said in a message to the Washington Examiner earlier this week. "That’s staggering compared to just 2-5% first time donors for new politicians. This is a grassroots campaign — Vivek is not beholden to the donor class to fund his campaign."

Then there's Doug Burgum, the Republican governor of North Dakota who announced his White House bid in early June. Burgum, who joined a crowded field led by former President Donald Trump and anchored by the likes of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), is polling at an average of 0.1%. A University of New Hampshire survey released Tuesday, however, placed him at 6% in the Granite State.

The governor raised $11.7 million in the second quarter of this year, though $10.2 million of that amount was his own personal loan, according to campaign finance disclosures. An early investor in the defunct financial software company Great Plains Software, which Microsoft bought in 2001, Burgum is said to be worth about $1.1 billion.

In late June, multiple reports indicated that Burgum had spent $2.9 million on ads since joining the presidential race on June 7 — more than any other presidential candidate. The governor, as well as Ramaswamy, have resorted to unique tactics to poach donors. Burgum has been vowing to mail contributors of $1 or more gift cards worth $20, while Ramaswamy's campaign says donors who help fundraise will potentially earn 10% of the amounts they haul in.

Perry Johnson, who was removed from running for Michigan governor last year over invalid and fraudulent petition signatures, is another long shot Republican presidential candidate who has self-financed. Johnson, a businessman who touts on his foundation's website that he owns 70 companies, recently disclosed loaning his campaign over $8.4 million and contributing $328,000 to it. In total, he has disclosed $8.8 million in receipts.

Johnson's campaign is offering his book Two Cents to Save America to those who donate $1.

“It’s not necessarily that self-funding doesn't work," Matt Kenney, a veteran Republican strategist in Arizona, told the Washington Examiner. "It often does. And, wealthy candidates can sometimes find a way to use their self-funding to build the momentum that they need."

Still, candidates who aren't deep-pocketed and "grind it out from the very beginning" end up in many cases being more in touch with voters than those who are self-financed, according to Kenney. “Self-funders are easily convinced they can win the race because they're the only candidate with a million dollars to get on television," he said. "But if the campaign is not built on a grassroots foundation with real supporters then it will crumble."

When it comes to the Senate, one longtime self-funder is Scott, who reported in 2023 steering over $243,000 to his campaign. Between January and June, the Florida Republican has disclosed $2.6 million total in receipts, according to filings.

Scott notably spent a record $63.6 million in his own cash in connection to his 2018 Senate bid. Phil Ehr, a Democratic ex-congressional candidate and Navy veteran, announced on Monday that he will run against Scott — which comes after Ehr got trounced by more than 30 points in 2020 against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).

"It says everything you need to know about Chuck Schumer and the Florida Dems’ recruitment efforts that the best they can do is a guy who lost a congressional race two cycles ago by 30 points," Priscilla Ivasco, a spokeswoman for Scott's campaign, told the Washington Examiner. "Senator Scott has a proven track record when it comes to fundraising."

Another Senate hopeful, Trone, has loaned himself almost $9.9 million since April, according to filings. The campaign for the three-term congressman, who is seeking Sen. Ben Cardin's (D-MD) soon-to-be-empty seat after he announced retirement plans, has spent over $4.9 million so far on his 2024 bid.

Trone spent over $12.5 million in his own cash last year to beat Republican Neil Parrott after reportedly spending $17.5 million in 2018 during his race. Matthew Foldi, a journalist who ran against Parrott in 2022 and finished in second in the primary, told the Washington Examiner it's "immensely hard to run against someone with unlimited pockets," since opponents are seemingly "fighting with their hands tied behind their backs."

The other two Senate hopefuls included in the Washington Examiner's analysis were Ohio Republican state Sen. Matt Dolan, who is part of a crowded primary field in Ohio looking to square off against the Buckeye State's Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Lexi Reese, a former tech industry executive running in California to fill Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) seat.

This year, Dolan has loaned his campaign $4 million, while disclosing over $612,000 in individual contributions. Reese has gifted her campaign almost $284,000 and disclosed taking $818,000 in individual donations, according to filings.

Among House candidates, Ben Savage sticks out as a notable self-funder.

Savage, an actor who rose to particular fame for his lead role of Cory Matthews in the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World, has loaned $877,000 to his Democratic campaign to fill Rep. Adam Schiff's (D-CA) soon-to-be-vacated seat, according to filings. He's taken in almost $30,000 in donations.

"I am encouraged by the support we have received for our campaign from working families throughout the country," Savage told the Washington Examiner. "Americans are tired of the same career politicians who scare people into voting for them, and deliver no real results."

"We must restore trust in our government, and we cannot do that with the same career politicians who answer to special interests and bear responsibility for many of the issues facing California," he added. "I’ve spoken with thousands of voters and the message is clear - they are ready for a new approach and new leadership."

Republican David Flippo, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force and Las Vegas financial adviser who is running to take on Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), loaned his campaign $2,500 and handed it almost $112,000, according to filings. Flippo also has taken $160,500 in contributions in his quest to take control of Nevada's 4th Congressional District, which leans blue.

"David Flippo has received over $150,000 in individual contributions, more than any other Republican challenger in Nevada at this point in the election cycle, but as a former military officer, David believes in leading from the front and will never ask anyone to make a sacrifice that he's unwilling to make," M. Woodrow Johnston II, a spokesman for Flippo's campaign, told the Washington Examiner.

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Other congressional candidates who have self-funded their campaigns with over $100,000 in loans or straight cash include Republicans Marlin Stutzman in Indiana, Fred Von Canon in North Carolina, and Sheryl Adams in California. California Democrat George Whitesides has loaned his campaign $500,000 and gifted $270,000, according to filings.

Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) has contributed over $251,000 to her campaign, out of the total $498,000 in receipts she's pulled in this year. The congresswoman was previously a policy adviser for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and was a contractor for the State Department during the Obama administration.