The latest Federal Election Commission numbers are in, and they show that Washington political committees continue to rake in cash. Not only is money begin gathered in bundles, a nice piece of change is already going back out the door.
The trend arrows tell a story as well, with the Democrats' pointed up and the Republicans' headed down. According to the FEC, through the first third of 2007, Republicans have raised 61.2M and spent 46.5M, while Democrats have raised 59.4M and spent 36.5M. The comps on these nearly equal receipts are starkly divergent. For the Republicans, they represent a 25% decline over the same four months in 2005, and a 21% decrease compared to the first four months of 2003, the last presidential cycle.
The Democratic numbers, by contrast, represent gains of 26% over 2005 and 126% over 2003. The charts below tell the tale for the six committees, including the Republican National Committee (RNC); the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC); the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC); the Democratic National Committee (DNC); the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC); and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).
RBR observation: These committees are already spending cash but can also be counted on to hold significant funds in reserve for last minute use in the hottest of the hotspots. And they may even go beyond what's in the warchest. You may recall that last October and November, the Democratic committees in particular pulled out their credit cards to take advantage of conditions moving their way in the waning days of the campaign. Expect more of the same at the end of the 2008 battle.
