Democrats regain fundraising edge

The Democratic campaign committees rebounded from a slow July to best their Republican rivals in fundraising in August.

The
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $7.4 million last month
– surpassing the National Republican Senatorial Committee by nearly
$1.5 million.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, meanwhile, outpaced its GOP counterpart by almost $1.7 million.

The
DCCC raised $8.32 million and has just over $39 million cash on hand going into
the final six weeks of the campaign. The National Republican
Congressional Committee has $25.6 million banked for the final
stretch.  

Meanwhile, the NRSC raised just over $6 million in August and
reported $24.5 million cash on hand as of the end of the month, which
gives the committee a cash-on-hand edge over the DSCC, which reported
just under $23 million on hand.

It marks a much stronger month for the DSCC than July, when the
committee just edged its Republican counterpart in money raised. The
DSCC raised some $4.4 million in July to the NRSC’s $4.1 million.

Democrats
say the strong fundraising puts the national party in prime position to
be on offense ahead of the fall. The DSCC rolled out three new ads
Monday targeting Colorado GOP Senate candidate Ken Buck.

But NRSC executive director Rob Jesmer said their August
numbers speak volumes about the “energy and enthusiasm we’re seeing
from the Republican grassroots,” noting that August is typically a slow
fundraising month.

“With the election a little over six weeks away, the NRSC is
well-prepared to go on offense in battleground states around the
country as we work to hold the Democrats accountable for their reckless
spending agenda and fight to restore checks-and-balances in
Washington,” Jesmer said.

Republicans are also pointing to fundraising help the DSCC received
from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who gave the committee $1 million
in August.

As for the cash-on-hand differential between the two
committees, Democrats point to the active role its committee has
already taken in several key Senate contests. 

— This post was updated at 6:55 p.m.