It ain’t easy bein’ cheesy. Here are the October fundraising numbers for the six major party committees (September numbers are here):
| Committee | October Receipts | October Spent | Cash-on-Hand | Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCCC | $3,757,109 | $3,985,981 | $14,517,488 | $3,335,710 |
| NRCC | $3,439,657 | $3,588,229 | $4,168,422 | $2,000,000 |
| DSCC | $3,700,000 | $2,700,000 | $11,300,000 | $2,000,000 |
| NRSC | $4,000,000 | $3,100,000 | $5,900,000 | $0 |
| DNC | $11,575,400 | $13,433,508 | $12,955,285 | $4,363,779 |
| RNC | $9,068,585 | $16,700,826 | $11,292,167 | $0 |
It’s not yet known how much the DNC spent last month (UPDATE: Now it is – see chart), but it had to have been a hefty amount; note that, despite their strong $11.5M month, the committee’s cash-on-hand actually dipped by about $2.5M over September, and that their corresponding debt was only lowered by about $600K. (UPDATE: Here’s something I forgot to take note of: this is the first time, all year, that the DNC has had more cash-on-hand than the RNC. Nice.)
As for the NRCC, fundraising continues to be their weak link. Despite having the wind at their backs in terms of the national climate, the committee only has $4M in the bank. Compare that to money the DCCC had in their coffers in November 2005 ($10.7M) and November 2007 ($29M). House Republicans who aspire to take back the Speaker’s gavel next year have reason to be concerned with such a sluggish pace.
OMFG,WITH THESE NUMBERS IMMINENT DEM DESTRUCTION IS IMMINENT!!!!
But seriously, the dems are in good shape, especially the DCCC and DSCC, even with their debt.
The RNC was trumpeting it’s $9 mill haul just yesterday. Guess they didn’t think the DNC would end up outraising them by $2.5 Mill. The DNC used to always get killed by th RNC in fundraising. Guess when you have the Presidency things turn around.
But ya, with almost no vulnerable Dems retiring in the house and senate so far (knock on wood) and with our committees outraising republicans it’s going to be very hard in 2010 for republicans to knock off as many incumbents as they’d like to.
I would also think and hope that if and when healthcare is passed it will do wonders for Democratic fundraising as the base gets motivated and has observed what a strong D congress and president can do. Conversely it could harm R fundraising as they will lose their motivation. I suppose one could say the opposite in both cases is true, (The Dems are doing quite fine without my money and the Reps really need more money to stop these Ds) but I doubt that.
If you add up all three committees’ cash minus debt, Dems are ahead a little less than $10 million right now. Not a bad position to be in, but I hope the lead widens.
We’ve greatly reduced the funding disparity between the DNC and RNC.
Hopefully by next year the DNC will be on top
What is the advantage of still carrying debt when you have lots more cash on hand? I can understand the usefulness of running up debt before an election to support candidates as much as possible, but at this point in the cycle it seems counterproductive. Don’t the party commitees have to pay some interest on their debts? From the numbers above it looks like the DSCC and DCCC should pay down their debt; maybe not the DNC as much.