House, Senate Dems’ fundraising for September tops GOP’s

The Democratic campaign committees in both the House and Senate outraised their Republican counterparts in September, and have also hauled in more over the course of the year.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $6.6 million in September — almost twice the $3.8 million brought in by the National Republican Congressional Committee. The blow to Republicans was made harsher by the fact that the GOP has control of the House, giving them a leg up on fundraising.

But the NRCC has less debt — $1.5 million to the DCCC’s $2 million — and a larger war chest. The NRCC has stored up $12.2 million, compared to just $9.5 million for the DCCC.

{mosads}On the Senate side, where Democrats are in the majority, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee hauled in $4.5 million during the previous month. That’s about one million more than the $3.4 million that the National Republican Senatorial Committee raised. The DSCC also has $4 million more cash on hand than the NRSC.

The NRSC is debt-free, but the DSCC has not released its level of debt. One month ago, the DSCC owed less than $2 million.

The party campaign committees won’t be the only big spenders in the 2012 election cycle, with PACs and outside groups playing an increasing role. But September’s results show that even with a president struggling in the polls and dismal approval ratings for members of Congress, Democrats are still finding traction in their efforts to build support for their candidates more than a year out from the election.

In August, a notoriously slow fundraising month, Senate Republicans outraised Senate Democrats, but House Democrats outraised House Republicans.