GOP Beats Democrats in February Fund-Raising

The Republican National Committee reported $14 million in the bank Wednesday, more than four times as much as its Democratic counterpart.

The RNC collected nearly $9.7 million in February and finished the month with no debt, a monthly campaign finance report it filed with the Federal Election Commission showed.

The Democratic National Committee began this month with $3 million on hand and $1.6 million in debt. It collected about $2.6 million, according to its campaign finance report.

The Republican committee devoted about half its spending in the month to direct mail and telemarketing, both of which can help bring in more money.

The RNC spent about $6.4 million in February, including nearly $2.3 million on mailings, $566,779 on telemarketing and $439,383 on Internet costs, an analysis of its report by the campaign finance tracking service Political Money Line showed.

The GOP committee spent $960,140 on staff salaries last month. It paid former White House advisor Karen Hughes $15,000 for consulting, while Mary Matalin, a former advisor in Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, received $10,000, the analysis found.

The Democratic committee spent $1.85 million last month, including $617,722 on direct mail. Other big-ticket areas included $344,270 for payroll and $189,291 for computers.

The reports show both party committees collected most of their February contributions from individuals, much of that from low-dollar donors.

The RNC collected about $9.5 million from individual donors, with about $7 million coming from those who gave less than $200, the Political Money Line analysis showed.

The DNC raised about $2.5 million from individuals, with about $2 million of that from contributions below $200.

Both parties have been pushing to expand their donations from individuals, one of the few types of contributors they can pursue under the nation’s new campaign finance law.

The law, which took effect Nov. 6, forbids the national party committees from collecting contributions known as “soft money,” which include unlimited donations and contributions from corporations and labor unions.

Instead, they can accept limited contributions from individuals and political action committees, known as hard money. Individuals and PACs can give up to $25,000 a year.