In Race to Control Hill, GOP Has Financial Upper Hand

Republicans have raised $44 million to help finance their bid to keep control of the House in next year’s election -- roughly triple the nearly $15 million collected by Democrats.

The GOP’s Senate campaign committee also topped its Democratic counterpart in fund-raising, but by a slimmer amount: $14 million to $11 million.

The donation totals, made public this week, indicate that the Republicans who rule both sides of Capitol Hill will maintain the financial advantage they usually have in congressional campaigns.

But Democrats contended that they would have enough money to adequately pay for their effort to gain the majority in the narrowly divided House and Senate. Indeed, Democrats discounted the GOP House committee’s fund-raising lead, noting that their committee was near parity in one important measure: cash on hand.

As of June 30, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had $6.3 million in the bank; the National Republican Congressional Committee had $6.5 million.

The two committees aid and supplement the campaigns run by their parties’ national House candidates.

Officials with the GOP committee said the money they raised during the year’s first six months helped them wipe out about $6 million in debt and invest in an extensive new list of donors -- 230,000 recruited since January, largely through telemarketing.

“We have a very strong and revitalized donor base,” said Carl Forti, the panel’s spokesman.

Republicans control the House, 229 to 206 (the Democratic total includes one independent who votes with the party). The GOP captured the House in the 1994 elections and has held it since then.

In 2002, the GOP majority grew slightly, reversing previous declines. Republicans believe they are in good position to gain more seats next year, especially if President Bush wins reelection.

To counter the GOP’s fund-raising lead, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has been urging Democratic lawmakers unlikely to face serious challenges to funnel some of their campaign funds to the party’s House committee. So far, Democratic House members have given about $3.8 million to the group, an amount officials say is a record.

“We’re doing exactly what we want to do,” said Rep. Robert T. Matsui of Sacramento, chairman of the Democratic committee. “We always concede that the Republicans will have more money, but we don’t need as much as they do because we spend it more effectively.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee reported $5.2 million in the bank as of June 30, more than twice the $2.5 million on hand for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Republicans control the Senate by a razor-thin margin -- 51 to 49 (the Democratic total includes an independent who votes with the party on leadership matters). But four Southern Senate seats at stake in 2004 could provide the GOP with good chances to increase their advantage.

According to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission:

* In North Carolina, Republican Rep. Richard M. Burr has amassed close to $3.5 million in a bid for the seat held by Democratic Sen. John Edwards. Although Edwards has not ruled out a reelection run, he is seeking his party’s presidential nomination.

* In Florida, Republican Rep. Mark Foley had $2.9 million in the bank for a possible run for the seat held by Sen. Bob Graham. Like Edwards, Graham is a Democratic presidential candidate who has yet to decide whether to seek reelection.

* In South Carolina, three Republicans had a combined $2.2 million on hand in a contest for the party’s Senate nomination. The winner will vie for the seat held by Democrat Ernest F. Hollings, who is pondering retirement.

* In Louisiana, Republican Rep. David Vitter has more than $1.3 million ready to launch a Senate campaign in case Democrat John B. Breaux retires.

A spokesman for the Democratic Senate committee, Brad Woodhouse, said the party’s incumbents “are raising good, strong sums of money.”

A case in point is Sen. Barbara Boxer of California. Her campaign reported that she had almost $3.2 million in the bank as of June 30. Her one major Republican challenger, Toni Casey, a former mayor of Los Altos Hills in the Silicon Valley, reported raising just $300,000.

Rosario Marin, a former U.S. treasurer in the Bush administration and a former mayor of Huntington Park, is exploring a run for the Senate. Several prominent Republican officeholders have bypassed the chance to take on Boxer.