RNC out raises DNC in 2013
Republicans also have more cash on hand and don't have to deal with a debt left over from 2012.
The DNC told POLITICO on Friday that the committee raised $3.9 million in December - bringing its yearly fundraising haul to $62.2 million.
That compares with the $80.6 million the RNC announced last week it had raised in all of 2013. The DNC has $4.7 million cash on hand, with $15.6 million in lingering debt from the 2012 cycle. The DNC's debt has shrunk from a high of $22.5 million in March.
"The DNC is working to retire our debt while we continue to make strategic investments in state parties and programs that will help Democrats win up and down the ballot in 2014, like voter protection, our data and technological infrastructure and communications," a DNC official said.
The RNC has no debt, and has $9.2 million on hand.
A DNC official noted that President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and first lady Michelle Obama did no fundraising in December.
Nevertheless, the party raised more than $500,000 on New Year's Eve alone - one of the best fundraising days ever measured on the party's Democrats.org platform.
All in all, pretty solid numbers considering that the GOP doesn't have a money shaker like President Obama. The real problem for Republicans is that the congressional campaign committees for Democrats are outraising their GOP counterparts.
House Republicans were outraised by their Democratic campaign counterparts by more than $15 million during 2013.
According to numbers provided first to The Hill, the National Republican Congressional Committee raised $60.6 million last year - significantly less than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's record-breaking $75.8 million haul they announced earlier this week.
Thanks to the fundraising disparity, the DCCC also starts the 2014 election cycle with an $8 million edge in the bank. Democrats ended the year with $29.3 million cash on hand compared to the NRCC's $21 million. Neither committee carries any debt.
The NRCC was also outraised by the Democrats' campaign arm during December: Republicans pulled in $4.2 million compared to the DCCC's $5.6 million. Last month's numbers for the GOP were a slight uptick from the NRCC's $4 million they raised in November.
The sizeable cash advantage gives Democrats hope going into a difficult midterm cycle, but even money may not be enough. Democrats need to flip 17 seats to regain control of the House, a tough task with fewer competitive seats in a year when the president's party typically loses ground.
The Senate committee numbers are no better.
So, while the national party is doing well, the congressional committees could use a boost.