Oh, we ain’t got a barrel of money. Here are the April fundraising numbers for the six major party committees (March numbers are here):
| Committee | April Receipts | April Spent | Cash-on-Hand | CoH Change | Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCCC | $5,140,302 | $3,906,970 | $27,276,651 | $1,233,737 | $0 |
| NRCC | $7,184,320 | $5,662,873 | $11,456,418 | $1,521,446 | $0 |
| DSCC | $3,100,000 | $3,300,000 | $17,100,000 | $100,000 | $0 |
| NRSC | $4,400,000 | $2,300,000 | $17,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $0 |
| DNC | $10,432,485 | $10,052,584 | $15,128,361 | $379,901 | $2,728,493 |
| RNC | $6,864,684 | $5,738,571 | $12,492,877 | $1,126,113 | $0 |
| Total Dem | $18,672,787 | $17,259,554 | $59,505,011 | $1,713,637 | $2,728,493 |
| Total GOP | $18,449,004 | $13,701,444 | $40,949,295 | $4,647,559 | $0 |
Our House & Senate committees got crushed last month, and now the NRSC is at parity with the DSCC. While the DNC numbers look good at first blush, they spent as much as they took in. I’m not really sure why the DNC has been burning so much lately – they spent over $9 million in March, too. I’m posting a little table of all their expense categories over $100K (which acounts for almost all of their April spending):
| Item | Expenditures |
|---|---|
| Direct Mail | $1,872,736 |
| Salaries | $1,365,960 |
| Telemarketing | $1,140,580 |
| Payroll Taxes | $571,075 |
| Catering, Food & Beverage | $520,613 |
| Online Store Merchandise | $494,304 |
| Contributions to Dem Parties | $487,762 |
| Voter File Updates and Maintenance | $426,596 |
| Transfer – Joint Fundraising | $399,469 |
| Technology Consulting | $331,966 |
| Loan Repayment | $277,778 |
| Polling Expenses | $267,933 |
| Benefits Cost | $245,231 |
| Internet Advertising | $226,564 |
| Travel | $216,921 |
| Data Services Subscription | $189,510 |
| Bank Charges | $173,673 |
| Rent | $167,998 |
| Phone | $132,958 |
| Postage & Shipping | $106,355 |
| Computer Equipment | $105,042 |
n/t
That is a little harsh considering the margins are $1m and $2m but clearly it is bad news. Still, the overall picture isn’t too bad – the DSCC has almost $16m more CoH than the NRCC, the senate committees are now tied and the DNC has a lead on the RNC which is almost unheard of. I don’t think this is such a bad place to be considering the environment.
Relatively meaningless. If these numbers had a huge difference (remember the NRSC Vs DSCC numbers from 2006?), then it would mean something. If the Democratic numbers were being outraised, even, it would mean something. These numbers don’t mean a whole lot to me, nor does it change anything in terms of ability to spend.
… how much of the NRCC/DCCC fundraising was PA-12 and HI-01 based — and to the extent that it’s HI-01, that might account for some of the disparity.
The DCCC has (according to reports) over $1 million coming from the NYC May fundraiser with Obama. Don’t know if Republicans would have anything comparable. (Pols come to NYC for the same reason Willie Sutton said he robbed banks…)
It’s hard to know whether a money advantage will matter much this cycle. If people are still angry and the economy is bad, most of the vulnerable Ds are probably toast no matter what is spent. But if the political climate is a little more forgiving in November, the damage may be limited if the Dems can get their message out–which takes money.