Two of three Democratic national campaign committees outraised their Republican counterparts last month and now carry sizable cash-on-hand advantages, according to figures released by the committees.
The Democratic National Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised and banked more cash in May than their GOP counterparts, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee lagged behind the National Republican Congressional Committee. Their monthly reports were due to the Federal Election Commission on Monday.
As the Republican National Committee works to recover from high spending in the 2010 cycle, the DNC continues to be in far better financial shape, thanks in part to the president’s fundraising abilities.
The DNC raised $10.5 million last month, including a $6.5 million transfer from the Obama Victory Fund — a joint fundraising account split between the DNC and President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. Obama’s campaign gets the first $5,000 of an individual contribution to the account, and the DNC gets the rest.
The DNC now has $16.5 million on hand while carrying $13.5 million in debt. The RNC raised $6.2 million last month and ended May with $6.1 million on hand. The committee, which started the cycle with the most debt, has $18.5 million in remaining debt. That’s after paying down $6 million so far this year — including $500,000 last month.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, who is trying to bring back major donors that defected last cycle during the tenure of then-Chairman Michael Steele, promised that the RNC “will have the resources to turn back the failed leadership of Barack Obama and return a Republican majority to the U.S. Senate in 2012.”
As for the Senate committees, the DSCC topped the National Republican Senatorial Committee by $1 million in May, bringing in $4.1 million to the NRSC’s $3.1 million.
The DSCC has raised $18.6 million so far this cycle, and the NRSC has brought in $17.7 million. The DSCC began June with $7.8 million, and the NRSC had $1.8 million. The NRSC, however, has paid off all of its remaining debt from the previous cycle, making it the first national party committee to do so. The DSCC, which owed $4.3 million at the end of April, did not release its current debt figure.
Senate Democrats attributed the May fundraising discrepancy to a message victory on Medicare, calling it a “game changer.”
“It is helping motivate Democratic donors in every corner of the country, helping us out raise the Republicans and surpass our own fundraising goals,” DSCC Executive Director Guy Cecil said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans touted being debt free and able to focus solely on 2012. In a statement to Roll Call, NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh said: “Strengthening the NRSC’s finances has been a top priority for [NRSC Chairman John] Cornyn since the moment he took this job, and we’re pleased to be the first national committee to be debt-free this cycle. Every dollar raised will go directly to winning back a Senate Republican majority in 2012.”
The NRSC has surpassed its fundraising performance by $5 million compared with this point in the 2008 presidential cycle. By comparison, the DSCC is off pace from the same point in the previous presidential cycle. It had already raised more than $22 million through May 2007.
On the House side, the NRCC was the top performer in May, taking in $4.6 million and reporting $10.6 million in cash on hand, double the amount of the DCCC. The NRCC also reported $7 million in debt left over from the 2010 campaign cycle, according to figures obtained late Monday by Roll Call.
Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
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