Senate GOP brings in $4.9M for March

The National Republican Senatorial Committee had its best fundraising month of the year in March, pulling in $4.9 million. 

{mosads}That’s a big jump over February, when the NRSC brought in $3.8 million, and January, when the Senate campaign arm raised $2.5 million. The NRSC raised $10.9 million total in the first quarter.

The haul is almost identical to the last off-cycle presidential election year. In March 2011, the NRSC raised $5 million and totaled $11.2 million for the first quarter.

In March 2013, the committee raised $3.1 million on its way to picking up nine seats in the upper chamber in the midterm elections.

The NRSC increased its cash on hand from $4.3 million to $5.2 million. The group is looking to bolster its campaign fund, as it seeks to defend the eight-seat advantage Republicans have in the Senate. 

In 2016, Republicans will be defending 24 seats, compared to 10 for Democrats. 

The committee continues to shed debt, reducing it to $6 million in March, down from $8 million in February and $10 million in January.

Senate Democrats haven’t released their March numbers yet, but in February, they outraised their GOP counterparts by about $500,000 but still had $15 million in debt.