Senate Democrats Outraise GOP in May

By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff Tue Jun 24, 3:38 PM ET

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), the political arm of the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, raised $5.9 million in May, according to a report it filed Friday. Its partisan counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), reported raising $4.9 million last month.

The Democrats are favored to increase their operational 51-49 majority by at least a few seats, in part because the DSCC is so flush with cash that it will be able to target so many states in which the Republicans are the defending party (including most of the five states in which Republican senators are retiring). As June began, the DSCC had $38.5 million left to spend, compared to $21.6 million for the NRSC. Both committees are debt-free.

Though the DSCC has nearly twice as much money to spend as its partisan opposite, the NRSC has actually more money to spend now than it did at this point two years ago, when the GOP was defending a seemingly sturdy 55-45 majority in the Senate that the Democrats erased with a six-seat gain. The fundraising gap between the DSCC and NRSC is not as large as the separation between the two House campaign committees, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

The DSCC's outlays in May included $1.1 million in transfers to affiliate committees -- mainly party committees in states that are holding competitive Senate elections this year. Nearly all of these funds went to the Democratic state affiliates in eight states -- six in which the Republicans are the defending party (Alaska, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New Mexico). The DSCC also reported large transfers to the state party organizations in South Dakota, where Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson seems assured of winning a third term, and Louisiana, where Mary L. Landrieu is the only Democratic senator who faces a serious re-election challenge this year.

The DSCC reported $409,000 in "independent expenditures" to produce and air a television advertisement opposing Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, whose November opponent is state House Speaker Jeff Merkley. Party committees can make unlimited independent expenditures, so long as the spending is done independently of candidates' campaigns.

The DSCC also reported $279,000 in "coordinated expenditures," which are limited by law but can be made in concert with candidates' campaigns. The largest share of these funds went to assist Merkley, whom the DSCC preferred in the May 20 primary election over Steve Novick, a lawyer and liberal activist who lost by 3 percentage points. The DSCC also used coordinated funds in May to boost the campaigns of North Carolina Democrat Kay Hagan, a state senator who is her party's nominee against Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole; Kentucky Democrat Bruce Lunsford, a businessman who is challenging Minority Leader Mitch McConnell; and Landrieu, whose Republican opponent is state Treasurer John Kennedy.

The reports showed that senators didn't give much to the national party committees in May -- though one exception was South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who transferred $260,000 to the NRSC from his own campaign committee. Graham, who had more than $4.5 million in his campaign account as of May 21, is strongly favored to win a second term this November. Unlike individual donors, who are limited to an annual maximum donation of $28,500 to national party committees, senators can give unlimited funds to national party committees via their personal campaign committees.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC)

- May 2008 receipts: $5.9 million

- Cycle-to-date receipts: $82.5 million

- May 2008 expenditures: $5 million

- Cycle-to-date expenditures: $44 million

- Cash on hand, May 31: $38.5 million

- Debts, May 31: $0

Notable contributions from individuals

- Peter G. Angelos, lawyer and the owner of the Baltimore Orioles professional baseball team: $28,500

- Ronald Baron, chief executive officer of Baron Funds: $28,500

- Louis Frankfort, chairman of Coach: $28,500

- Edward Kerschner, chief investment strategist at Citigroup: $28,500

- Richard Schaps, chairman and chief executive officer of Van Wagner Communications: $28,500

- Lynn Schenk, lawyer and a former U.S. House member from California: $28,500

- Ronald P. Stanton, chairman of Transammonia: $28,500

- Judith Zarin, film producer: $28,500

Notable transfers from campaign committees of or leadership PACs linked to Democratic senators

- Sherrod Brown of Ohio: $25,000

- Ben Nelson of Nebraska: $15,000

- John D. Rockefeller IV of West Virginia: $50,000

- Moving America Forward (Bill Nelson of Florida): $5,000

- Treasure State PAC (Jon Tester of Montana): $5,000

- Jazz PAC (Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana); $5,000

- Born Fighting PAC (Jim Webb of Virginia): $5,000

Notable transfers to state Democratic Party committees

- South Dakota: $250,000

- Colorado: $161,769

- New Hampshire: $151,760

- New Mexico: $124,293

- Maine: $120,053

- Alaska: $103,809

- Louisiana: $103,326

- Minnesota: $102,920

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC)

- May 2008 receipts: $4.9 million

- Cycle-to-date receipts: $52.8 million

- May 2008 expenditures: $2.7 million

- Cycle-to-date expenditures: $31.3 million

- Cash-on-hand, May 31: $21.6 million

- Debts, May 31: $0

Notable contributions from individuals

- Jeff Broin, chief executive officer of POET: $28,500

- Patrick M. Byrne, chief executive officer of Overstock.com: $28,500

- Robert Castellini, chairman of Castellini Group and the president and chief executive officer of the Cincinnati Reds professional baseball team: $28,500

- James Cornelius, chairman and chief executive officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb: $28,500

- Donald Fisher, founder and chairman emeritus of Gap Inc.: $27,900

- Peter G. Fitzgerald, chairman of Chain Bridge Management and a former U.S. Senator from Illinois (1999-2005): $28,500

- Michael O. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of Herbalife: $28,500

- Thomas H. Kean, a former governor of New Jersey (1982-1990): $28,500

- Steve Kirby, founding partner of Bluestem Capital and a former lieutenant governor of South Dakota: $28,500

- Richard M. Kovacevich, chairman of Wells Fargo and Co.: $14,250

Notable transfers from campaign committees of or leadership PACs linked to Republican senators

- Lindsey Graham of South Carolina: $260,000

- Northstar Leadership PAC (Norm Coleman of Minnesota): $15,000

- Alamo PAC (John Cornyn of Texas): $15,000

- Richard G. Lugar of Indiana: $1,173 (in-kind)