Republican Party Gala Rakes In a Record $38.5 Million

President Bush helped the GOP raise at least $38.5 million on Wednesday at its annual gala -- all of it in donations limited in size -- and smash a one-night record set when political parties could still rake in large corporate contributions.

The Republican National Committee can spend the money as it chooses, from party get-out-the-vote efforts to direct support for Bush’s reelection campaign and GOP candidates down the ticket.

Bush, the keynote speaker, took the stage and shook the hands of several major RNC fundraisers, including boxing promoter Don King, who waved two U.S. flags. Bush thanked the crowd for setting a record.

“It’s important to have enough fuel to make sure the grass roots are activated as we come down the stretch next fall,” Bush said to cheers.

The gala total tops the roughly $30 million that Bush helped raise at a GOP congressional dinner and the RNC gala in 2002, the last year national party committees could collect “soft money” -- business, union and unlimited donations.

Now, the national parties can raise only limited contributions from individuals and political action committees. They can accept up to $25,000 a year from those donors. Last year, the RNC raised about $15 million at the gala.

About 1,500 people attended the RNC’s event in Washington, which like the 2003 gala called for business attire rather than the tuxedos and gowns expected in previous years. Several GOP governors, senators and House members attended, as did Cabinet secretaries Gale A. Norton, Ann M. Veneman, Spencer Abraham and Tommy G. Thompson.

Following the theme “Taste of the States,” the menu included crab cakes, Boston cream pie and New York cheesecake to represent the Atlantic region; smoked country ham, fried green tomatoes and peach cobbler for “Dixieland”; sushi, smoked salmon and baked Alaska for the Pacific coast; pork chops, empanadas and churros for the “Home on the Range” states; and roast beef, Wisconsin cheeses and apple pie for the “Heartland.”

In a nod to Bush’s Texas roots, chocolate cowboy boots were filled with raspberry mousse. Straw cowboy hats also were given to all donors.

The RNC showed a video of the Bush family, including scenes of Bush and First Lady Laura Bush kissing and holding hands as they walked, and of Bush hugging his brother Jeb, Florida’s governor.

The GOP has long enjoyed a multimillion-dollar advantage over the Democratic Party. But Democrats also have seen their finances pick up this year.

Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and former Presidents Clinton and Carter helped the DNC take in roughly $11 million at its Washington gala in March, a Democratic Party record. The party committee has raised $24 million through other fundraisers and additional efforts such as Internet and mail solicitations since Kerry virtually secured the party’s presidential nomination March 2.

The DNC had about $40 million in the bank as of Wednesday. The RNC had $53.9 million on hand as of March 31, the most recent figure available.