Democratic Party committees have raised more money than their Republican counterparts this year even as the Republican National Committee had the biggest take.
The three major national Democratic campaign committees brought in a combined $45.1 million in the first quarter, compared with $41.8 million on the Republican side, according to figures provided by party officials Monday before filing their reports with the Federal Election Commission.
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The Democrats’ fundraising advantage isn’t as great as the $25 million margin held by Republicans when they controlled the House, the Senate and the presidency in the first quarter of 2005. And even this year, the best performer was the Republican National Committee, which brought in $25.3 million, compared with $17.5 million for the Democratic National Committee.
“The stimulus plan and the president’s budget is evidently mobilizing the Republican base in a significant way,” said David Primo, a political science professor at the University of Rochester in New York. Primo said the Republican fundraising figures were “very impressive” given the 2008 election losses. The DNC has struggled in recent years to keep pace with its Republican counterpart. The DNC raised $260 million for the 2008 elections, compared with $428 million for the RNC, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington research group.
The Democratic committee, now run by Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, finished March with $9.8 million in cash and $6.7 million in debt. The RNC, chaired by Michael Steele, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, had $23.9 million in the bank and no debt.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which raises money for House candidates, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee beat their Republican counterparts, and both raised more than they did in the same period four years ago.
The DCCC had the biggest gain, taking in $17.2 million, compared with $12.5 million in the same period four years ago. The National Republican Campaign Committee had the biggest decline, raising $8.9 million in the first three months of this year, compared with $19.8 million in the first quarter of 2005. The Democrats’ Senate fundraising arm took in $10.4 million in the first quarter, compared with $9.6 million for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The DSCC raised almost $1 million more than in the same period in 2005, while the NRSC raised about $300,000 less.
The Republicans overall had more money in the bank and owed less to creditors. Combined, the three Republican committees reported $29.4 million in cash and $6 million in debt; the three Democratic committees had a combined $20.3 million in the bank and $25.6 million in debt.
Both the DNC and RNC benefited from leftover money from the presidential race. The DNC got $4 million in transfers from President Barack Obama’s campaign committee and an additional $1 million from a joint fundraising committee during the period. The RNC received more than $7 million from fundraising committees formed to help presidential candidate John McCain.
