Updated at 1:26 p.m.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has slashed the once-imposing debt it held by 60 percent in just three months and is now just $8 million in the red after having $19.5 million in debt this January.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has slashed the once-imposing debt it held by 60 percent in just three months and is now just $8 million in the red after having $19.5 million in debt this January.
That paydown now puts them on par with their GOP counterparts. The National Republican Congressional Committee is now also $8 million in the red - although they outraised the DCCC for March, pulling in $10.2 million to the DCCC's $10 million.
The DCCC's first quarter total is still $1.5 million higher than the NRCC's - with Democrats raising a total of $19.6 million to the Republican's $18.1 million - but the NRCC has nearly double the DCCC's cash on hand. The NRCC has $9.05 million in the bank while the DCCC ends with $4.6 million.
Both committees boasted of their record cash totals. While the DCCC touted the first three months as their best off-year first quarter ever, the NRCC said their haul was their best first quarter since 2006 and their March cash total was their best ever in a non-election year. It's also the first month this year the NRCC has out-raised the DCCC. The NRCC held their annual fundraising dinner on March 30 just at the close of the quarter, where they received more than $10 million in pledges for the year.
Even with Republicans holding more in the bank, the DCCC has reason for excitement in paying down their debt after suffering wide losses last fall, and pointed to online fundraising and member contributions as key reasons for their strong quarter that enabled them to inch back toward the black. In March, they raised more than $1.2 million from online supporters, and on March 31, the final day of the quarter, received the most online contributions in the committee's history.
"Republicans' radical agenda to end Medicare and play chicken with a government shutdown, while protecting taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil, is turning off independent voters and energizing our Democratic supporters," DCCC Chairman Steve Israel said in a statement. "As a result, the DCCC is back on sound financial footing and aggressively focused on holding Republicans accountable for their radical agenda." In response, NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsay said: "House Democrats are clearly determined to do everything in their power to return Nancy Pelosi to the Speaker's chair, and the fact that she is bankrolling the DCCC will further motivate our grassroots donors to ensure that never happens again."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/04/dccc-cuts-debt-by-60-percent-14
The DCCC's first quarter total is still $1.5 million higher than the NRCC's - with Democrats raising a total of $19.6 million to the Republican's $18.1 million - but the NRCC has nearly double the DCCC's cash on hand. The NRCC has $9.05 million in the bank while the DCCC ends with $4.6 million.
Both committees boasted of their record cash totals. While the DCCC touted the first three months as their best off-year first quarter ever, the NRCC said their haul was their best first quarter since 2006 and their March cash total was their best ever in a non-election year. It's also the first month this year the NRCC has out-raised the DCCC. The NRCC held their annual fundraising dinner on March 30 just at the close of the quarter, where they received more than $10 million in pledges for the year.
Even with Republicans holding more in the bank, the DCCC has reason for excitement in paying down their debt after suffering wide losses last fall, and pointed to online fundraising and member contributions as key reasons for their strong quarter that enabled them to inch back toward the black. In March, they raised more than $1.2 million from online supporters, and on March 31, the final day of the quarter, received the most online contributions in the committee's history.
"Republicans' radical agenda to end Medicare and play chicken with a government shutdown, while protecting taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil, is turning off independent voters and energizing our Democratic supporters," DCCC Chairman Steve Israel said in a statement. "As a result, the DCCC is back on sound financial footing and aggressively focused on holding Republicans accountable for their radical agenda." In response, NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsay said: "House Democrats are clearly determined to do everything in their power to return Nancy Pelosi to the Speaker's chair, and the fact that she is bankrolling the DCCC will further motivate our grassroots donors to ensure that never happens again."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/hotlineoncall/2011/04/dccc-cuts-debt-by-60-percent-14