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Weird Stuff/Unexplained Title: Democrats Have More Cash Than Republicans for Off-Year Election Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic Party committees entered an off-year election with more money in the bank than their Republican counterparts for the first time in at least 18 years, giving the party a financial boost as it tries to stave off a surge by the opposition. The Democratic National Committee and the fundraising arms of House and Senate Democrats reported $37.9 million in the bank as of Dec. 31, almost double the $19.4 million the Republicans had, Federal Election Commission filings show. The Democrats have never had more money than Republicans to spend at the beginning of an off-year election, according to FEC records that date to 1991, the first year the parties had to report unregulated corporate, union and individual donations. Such “soft money” donations were banned after the 2002 elections. “It means we’ve put together the resources to protect members and stay on offense,” Representative Chris Van Hollen, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in an interview. While this is the first time since the 1993-94 election cycle that the Democrats control both the White House and Congress, Republicans have been invigorated by Scott Brown’s Jan. 19 win in Massachusetts to claim the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by the late Democrat Edward Kennedy. Financial Parity The Democratic National Committee entered the off-year election with more money than the Republican National Committee, $8.7 million to $8.4 million. The Republicans were debt-free, while the Democrats owed $4.7 million. Four years ago, the Republican committee had $34 million to the Democrats’ $6 million. “Without the White House, without the U.S. Senate, and without the Congress, we start 2010 with parity,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele told reporters in Honolulu. “And I think that’s a good spot for the party to be in.” The Republican National Committee spent $98 million last year as it helped fund winning candidates in the New Jersey and Virginia governors’ races. Brown’s capture of the Massachusetts senate seat ended the Democrats’ 60-vote majority, needed in that chamber to override efforts to block legislation. “Those two races set the stage for Massachusetts,” RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen, a national committee member from Arizona, said in an interview. “It was a great investment.” Resistance to Steele Even so, Steele has run into some opposition from party members. Republican fundraiser Wayne Berman said there is “resistance” to the chairman among some large donors. Steele has been criticized for writing a book about how to defeat Democrats without telling his party’s leadership, for saying Republicans wouldn’t win back the House of Representatives and for criticizing the rhetoric of conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh. Steele, the first black to hold the post, said he would seek another term as chairman, while saying “my style is not something you get used to very easily, I know that.” The Republican National Committee outraised its Democratic counterpart, $91 million to $84 million, last year. Four years ago, when the Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, the party took in $105 million to the Democrats’ $56 million. The House Democrats’ fundraising committee took in $55.6 million, while House Republicans raised $36.2 million. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $43.6 million, to $41.2 million for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “It’s not terribly surprising they have leads in the money sprint,” Republican consultant Alex Vogel said. “My guess is you will have enough parity that you’re not going to have money making the difference at the end of the day.” Democratic Difficulties Van Hollen, speaking on “Fox News Sunday” yesterday, acknowledged that 2010 was “going to be a difficult election year, the first midterm for a new president.” The House Democrats’ fundraising was helped by $641,950 raised by former Texas Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes, now a lobbyist, who hosted an event in Austin last fall. He brought in more than any other lobbyist fundraiser for House Democrats, FEC records show. Barnes’s lobbying issues included physician-owned hospitals. In August 2008, Medicare began requiring doctors who own a financial stake in hospitals to tell patients being referred there about any financial links. “This wasn’t about lobbying; this was about Democrats,” Barnes said in an interview. “I was a Democratic giver and fundraiser long before I registered to represent anybody.”
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