GOP State Parties Out Fundraising Democrats
March 29th, 2008 at 02:33am Mark Noonan
It is a curious election year, that is for sure:
As national Democrats gloat about a massive fundraising advantage the party’s House and Senate campaign committees hold over their GOP counterparts, the story on a statewide level is decidedly different, and local Republican parties could provide a key cash advantage in several states, reports filed with the Federal Election Commission show. In the forty three states where parties report their financial situations on a monthly basis, Republicans hold a cash advantage in twenty five, many of them battlegrounds that will feature prominently in both the presidential contest and in down-ballot races on which federal dollars can be spent.
While fundraising on behalf of the National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee has lagged far behind that of Democrats’, some GOP donors frustrated with their party in Washington have found other outlets for their contributions. All told, Republican state parties raised nearly $13.4 million in federal dollars, known as “hard money,” this cycle through February, while Democratic parties have hauled in $9 million in the same period, according to data compiled by one GOP operative and verified by Real Clear Politics.
When you break it down into battleground States, it becomes even more stark. Real Clear Politics points out that in Pennsylvania the GOP holds a 10 to 1 money advantage over the Democrats, while even in Ohio - a disaster for the GOP in 2006 - the GOP has more than twice the available funds than the Democrats.
Why is this? Perhaps GOP donors, still ticked off at the Congressional GOP, are shifting their donations to the State parties? And this, in turn, may indicate that the Democrats supposed fundraising advantage isn’t as high as it seems; perhaps it isn’t so much a lack of GOP enthusiasm, but a lack of focus for such enthusiasm? Only time will tell on this.
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Democrats, Republicans
1 Comment
1. Diane Tomlinson | March 29th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
This won’t last past the first week of June. C’mon Noonan you know how thin the GOP House field is this time. Sheesh! Talk about grapsing at straws.