The Democratic National Committee notched record fundraising numbers from Oct. 14 to Nov. 22, according to its report filed today, but also took out enough loans to eclipse its remaining cash.

The DNC raised $15.9 million in the period between the pre-general election filing and the post-general filing. A DNC spokesman said they raised $195.6 million for the whole cycle, saying it’s the Democrats’ highest total since the campaign finance restrictions imposed by McCain-Feingold.

A spokeswoman said the Republican National Committee raised $164 million in contributions this cycle. It’s a sum that RNC officials say is remarkable given they don’t control the White House and were in the minority in Congress. Adjusted for inflation, the Republicans raised more than they brought in during the entire 1994 cycle.

Despite good fundraising, the cycle went badly for Democrats: the party lost control of the House and lost six seats in the Senate.

In the same five-week period, the RNC raised less money, $9.4 million, and took out $12.5 million in new loans, enough to outweigh its remaining cash on hand.

The Democrats took out $10 million in new loans and had $9.7 million on hand as of Nov. 22. The RNC had $1.9 million on hand at the end of the filing period. In total, each committee has about $15 million in debt.

The reports show that over the course of the campaign cycle, the RNC spent $206 million and the DNC spent $217 million.

The RNC has faced problems building confidence with major donors this cycle, and donors found other ways to support Republican efforts, giving to other Republican campaign committees and third party groups.

The committee has taken criticism in the last few days over unusually high early spending for its 2012 convention in Tampa, Fla.

This post has been updated since publication.

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