In Off-Year Fundraising, Democrats May Have Edge

MELISSA BLOCK, host:

There is buzz around Washington that Republican fundraising is picking up momentum. At the same time, Democrats are wondering what happened to their money mojo from the presidential campaign. But as NPR's Peter Overby reports, a closer look at the numbers tells a different story.

PETER OVERBY: It's the second half of the first year of the 2010 election cycle and yet the money race is well underway. It's on Capitol Hill, where Republican Congressman John Sullivan of Oklahoma just took donors on a Segway tour. It's in this year's two races for governor, where last month House minority leader John Boehner started a private fundraiser for Virginia Republican Bob McDonnell. And it's at the White House.

Here's President Obama last month raising money for Democratic Senator Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania.

(Soundbite of cheering)

President BARACK OBAMA: And that's why you are all going to work just as hard as you can to make sure that he gets re-elected and is continuing to help me move this country forward. Thank you very much, Philadelphia.

(Soundbite of cheering)

President OBAMA: I love you and I love Arlen Specter. I appreciate you…

OVERBY: Still, if you remember the past several years of political fundraising, you remember gushers of money - especially on the Democratic side. Democrats capitalized on: anger at President George W. Bush, at Republicans in Congress, at the war and the failing economy. Political handicapper Charlie Cook gets metaphorical about it.

Mr. CHARLIE COOK (Political Handicapper): Sort of the equivalent of a greenhouse where you grow, you know, orchids and other tropical plants, absolutely perfect conditions. You know, the soil, the water, the sunshine, the temperature. Everything was perfect.

OVERBY: Well, this year isn't like that.

Mr. COOK: Virtually, nobody has the money, the disposable income today that they had two, four, six years ago. So fundraising over all, it's just tougher.

OVERBY: Cook points the three national organizations of each party: the National Committee, a committee to help House candidates, and one to help Senate candidates. At the National Committee level, Republicans traditionally outraised Democrats. This year, the RNC has raised $60 million versus $54 million for the DNC; that's as of September 1st. But the Democrats have narrowed a much bigger gap from earlier this year. The Senate committees are even at $26 million and change, a gap of just $60,000 separates them. Brian Walsh is with the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Mr. BRIAN WALSH (Spokesman, National Republican Senatorial Committee): We have almost 70,000 new first-time donors. A lot of Republicans who perhaps did not give and were not energized the last two cycles are donating. We're also hearing form Independent voters, many of whom voted for President Obama.

OVERBY: But Walsh says the town hall meetings in August didn't give a financial bounce.

Mr. WALSH: The fact that Republicans are able to maintain equality right now on the fundraising front with the Democrats is remarkable.

OVERBY: Or maybe not so remarkable, according to Michael Malbin. He's director of the Campaign Finance Institute, a think-tank that analyzes political money trends.

Professor MICHAEL MALBIN (Executive Director, Campaign Finance Institute): I cannot look at these numbers in any way as reflecting a Democratic problem.

OVERBY: And he gets more specific.

Prof. MALBIN: If you look at the NRCC, I'm seeing a Republican problem.

OVERBY: Again, that's the National Republican Congressional Committee he's referring to. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has raised $37 million, 57 percent more than its Republican counterpart. Handicappers like Charlie Cook say Republicans have better odds of winning the House than the Senate next year, but their candidates will need help with ads, phone banks and the rest. If Democrats keep that 57 percent money advantage, they'll be able to influence close races where the GOP won't. Still, as Michael Malbin points out, we're early in the election cycle with millions of dollars and uncounted political twists and turns to go before Election Day 2010.

Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.