Campaign committees

The new chairman of the Republican National Committee is spending the majority of his workday courting donors as he seeks to rebuild the organization's credibility.

"I am spending 5-6 hours a day on the phone raising money and we have gotten our mail program back up and running the way it should be," Reince Priebus, chairman of the RNC, told The Political Insider, a conservative publication. "We have work to do but we have taken great steps in the right direction with both mail and rebuilding relationships with major donors."

Many in the Republican donor community soured on the committee during former chairman Michael Steele's reign because of a perceived misuse of funds. 

Priebus, who has been on the job for about three months, said raising money was his main focus and predicted President Obama will "run the first billion dollar campaign" in 2012.

"We need to match him dollar for dollar," he said. "If he can spend $750 million to $1 billion dollars in messaging to try and mask and undo the fiscal realities of where we are in this country, that’s why the money issue is going to be our biggest challenge."

Senate Democrats had a second strong fundraising month in 2011 as the party looks to build a firewall around its thin majority.

After raising $2.63 million in January, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Monday revealed that it pulled in $3.43 million last month. That "haul is more than any Senate campaign committee has ever raised at this point in the election cycle," according to a DSCC release.

Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee raised slightly less, bringing in $3.34 million, according to its latest Federal Election Commission filing. The NRSC's cash reserve is running low -- it reported having $868,000 in the bank -- but it has less debt than its Democratic counterpart.

The DSCC ended the month with $5.1 million cash on hand — almost double the total it reported last month. The committee spent $1 million in February, and its debt remained virtually untouched at $8.6 million. The NRSC, meanwhile, is carrying $5.3 million in debt having paid down some $1.2 million since its last report.

Democrats said they're on track for a record haul this cycle.

"This is the strongest fundraising effort ever by any Senate campaign committee at this point in the election cycle," Guy Cecil, executive director of the DSCC, said in a statement.

"We are ahead of our goals and we are not letting up. Not only will we have the resources to preserve Democratic seats, we will also have the organization and funding we need to win in Republican-held seats."

--Updated at 1:06 p.m.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) remains $21 million in debt, even though it raised $5.2 million in February, according to fundraising numbers released Saturday.

The committee paid down $1 million on its debt out of $5.3 million total spent in February, according to an RNC official. Committee Chairman Reince Priebus announced in late January that the party went into the new year $23 million in debt, which accumulated under former chairman Michael Steele. The RNC currently has $2.1 million cash on hand.

Saturday's news — which was first reported by The Washington Post — shows that the RNC has much ground to make up in terms of fundraising heading into the 2012 election cycle. 

According to the Post's report, the RNC's new leadership discovered almost $1 million in new debt since the new year, meaning the committee must dig out of a larger-than-expected hole.

The RNC pointed to two signs that Priebus is beginning to get the committee on the right track: the party has doubled its major donor goal so far and has cut 35 percent in overhead spending.

The Post reported that the Democratic National Committee raised $7.1 million in February and stands $17.9 million in debt. The DNC spent $5.7 million last month and has $10.5 million cash on hand.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) is one of the names in the mix to head the Democratic National Committee should Chairman Tim Kaine run for Senate next year, but she isn't revealing whether she has any interest in the post. 

"I understand there is a DNC chairman at the moment," Wasserman Schultz said Tuesday when asked about top Democrats dropping her name as a contender to head the committee. 

Asked if she would have any interest in the slot should Kaine officially jump into the race for retiring Sen. Jim Webb's (D-Va.) seat, Wasserman Schultz simply repeated her earlier dodge.     

While Democratic insiders put her name near the top of the list of possibilities to head the DNC, working against Wasserman Schultz is her role at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. 

The Florida congresswoman is one of five DCCC national chairmen for the 2012 cycle and is working on the committee's redistricting efforts. That role would present an inherent conflict, said one Democratic insider, given that the two committees compete for donors. 

Other names at the top of the list are former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, both of whom are pegged as more likely to be selected for the DNC job than Wasserman Schultz. 

One thing tying all three together — they were all supporters of then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) 2008 presidential campaign.

Earlier this week, a DNC spokesman said Kaine is "increasingly likely" to jump into the 2012 Senate race, making an official announcement more a question of when than if at this point.

Even after their names and debts appeared publicly, some don't plan to cut checks any time soon.

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The head of Senate Democrats' campaign committee emphasized on Monday that Democrats weren't questioning the veracity of Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) revelation that he was a victim of sex abuse when they circulated articles containing criticism of Brown.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) circulated articles to reporters last week by respected Boston columnists that suggested Brown's revelations were a hypocritical move in the light of his endorsement of a congressional candidate who was accused of insensitivity to sexual assault.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the chairwoman of the DSCC, emphasized that Democrats weren't questioning the claims.

"No one is questioning the veracity of his story. We send out literally hundreds of articles daily, and this was part of that," Murray said at the Capitol.

"I just want to emphasize that no one was ever questioning the veracity of his story," she added.

Clips are routinely circulated by party committees to reporters. They don't always necessarily reflect the official stance or position of a party or committee, but typically serve the purpose of bringing certain articles to reporters' attention.

Brown is a top target for Democrats in 2012 and has spent much of the last two weeks on a media blitz to promote his memoir, "Against All Odds."

Talk of the budget battle in Wisconsin was frequent Saturday at the gathering of Virginia Democrats and party activists.

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Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D), called out New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie again Saturday during a speech at a Democratic fundraising dinner, saying the "tea partying" governor lives "in a different world than ours."

O'Malley, the chairman of the Democratic Governor's Association, accused Christie and other GOP governors across the country of irresponsibly slashing funding for priorities like education and infrastructure.

"The tea partying Republican governors would have us believe a lot of things that just aren't so," said O'Malley. "They would have us believe that we can somehow eat cake and lose weight. They would have us believe that we can just cut our way to a better future -- no need to invest in education or rebuild our infrastructure."

O'Malley was keynoting the Virginia Democratic Party's annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner, where he touted former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine's record of "fiscal discipline," slamming GOP governors who he said "would have you believe that they are the only governors who balance their budgets every year."

"At the Republican governor's tea party, where colorful characters like Chris Christie preside, there is no need to pay bills, no need to protect bond ratings, no need to invest in the future," O'Malley said. "Down is up, up is down; candy is a vegetable, and vegetables are candy."

O'Malley's comments mark the continuation of a public feud between the two governors. Earlier this month, Christie slammed O'Malley in an interview on Fox Business Network after the Maryland governor said Christie "delights in being abusive towards public employees."

"He doesn't know what he is talking about," Christie said in response to O'Malley. "Come to New Jersey and listen to what I am saying, rather than listening to his Democratic consultants."

Senate Democrats staggered into 2011 with their campaign committee carrying almost $10 million in debt from the past election cycle.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, meanwhile, has less debt but also less cash on hand. The NRSC had only $118,316 banked as of the start of the year, with $6.5 million in debt. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had $753,595 banked, but started the year with $8.88 million in liabilities.

Democratic officials were quick to point out they out raised their GOP counterparts by almost $15 million in the 2010 campaign cycle.

"One of the reasons we were able to beat back the Republican wave last cycle is because we outraised the other side," Guy Cecil, executive director of the DSCC, said in a statement. "Despite Republicans enjoying national momentum, we were able to amass the resources needed to wage aggressive campaigns in targeted states. Our supporters know what's at stake in 2012 and stand ready to fight."

Still, the DSCC is under pressure to best last cycle's fundraising performance because of the greater number of seats they have to defend in 2012. Democrats have 23 senators up next year, while the GOP only has 10 seats up for grabs. Republicans need a net gain of at least three seats to take control of the upper chamber. 

Republicans boasted they won seven Senate seats last year without losing one of their own.

"It's amusing, to say the least, to see Senate Democrats cite their fundraising as the reason they only lost seven seats when their previous fundraising advantage was eroded by $57 million in the 2010 cycle, despite having far more Senators and the fundraiser-in-chief in the White House," Rob Jesmer, NRSC executive director, said in a statement.

Both campaign committees spent more than they raised in December. The DSCC took in $2.48 million and spent $2.44 million. The NRSC raised $2.32 million and spent $2.72 million.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus boasted that his early staff cuts have saved thousands of dollars for the party but admitted its finances remain mired in red ink.

The RNC currently has $725,650 banked and just over $21 million in debt, according to its latest Federal Election Commission filing. But in a statement, Priebus said the committee's actual liabilities total $23 million -- $15 million in loans and $8 million owed to vendors. 

Some estimates suggest the committee will need to raise up to $400 million to help Republicans compete for congressional majorities and the White House in 2012.

"We have our work cut out for us, but I am confident we will succeed in turning around the RNC through hard work, transparency and honesty with our hardworking grassroots activists and donors," Priebus said Monday. "That is why in the first two weeks we have reduced staff from 124 positions to 82, frozen all major contracts until they can be evaluated and assembled an incredibly strong finance transition team."

The chairman estimated those moves have saved the RNC $500,000 a month. He also said there were steps being taken to lower the cost of processing small donations.

"The RNC did raise nearly $105 million in 2010, mainly through low-dollar solicitations online and in the mail, but the costs to raise it were simply too high, at approximately 64 cents for every dollar raised," he said. "Even more troubling, our major donor programs are at 10-year lows."

He pledged to continue taking the steps "necessary to defeat President Obama."

--Updated at 9:56 a.m. Feb. 1