Democrats Top G.O.P. in Fund-Raising for Midterms

Democrats Top G.O.P. in Fund-Raising for Midterms
By CARL HULSE
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: April 20, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/21/us/politics/21donations.html?th&emc=th


Congressional Republicans are enthusiastic about their performance in the all-important midterm money chase. But the Democratic House and Senate campaign committees still managed to out-raise the Republican organizations last month and have more cash in the bank even though Republicans claim the momentum.

According to party figures, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised nearly $10 million in March compared with $8 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee. House Democrats ended the first quarter with $26 million in the bank compared with $10 million for House Republicans.

In the Senate, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $6 million and had $17 million in the bank, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee took in $5.1 million and had $15 million available to spend.

Still, Republicans say the disparity in fund-raising and available cash is significantly diminished from recent election cycles even though Democrats control Congress and the White House.

House Republicans say their $8 million haul for March was the best in this cycle. At this stage of the 2008 elections, House Democrats had a $37 million cash advantage over Republicans.

House Democrats attributed their success to party members energized by the health care legislation.

One area where Democrats lag is in contributions from House members. Many Democrats have their own contests and cannot easily spare the cash.