Democrats regain fundraising edge

The Democratic campaign committees rebounded from a slow July to best their Republican rivals in fundraising in August.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $7.4 million last month – surpassing the National Republican Senatorial Committee by nearly $1.5 million.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, meanwhile, outpaced its GOP counterpart by almost $1.7 million.

The DCCC raised $8.32 million and has just over $39 million cash on hand going into the final six weeks of the campaign. The National Republican Congressional Committee has $25.6 million banked for the final stretch.  

Meanwhile, the NRSC raised just over $6 million in August and reported $24.5 million cash on hand as of the end of the month, which gives the committee a cash-on-hand edge over the DSCC, which reported just under $23 million on hand.

It marks a much stronger month for the DSCC than July, when the committee just edged its Republican counterpart in money raised. The DSCC raised some $4.4 million in July to the NRSC's $4.1 million.

Democrats say the strong fundraising puts the national party in prime position to be on offense ahead of the fall. The DSCC rolled out three new ads Monday targeting Colorado GOP Senate candidate Ken Buck.

But NRSC executive director Rob Jesmer said their August numbers speak volumes about the "energy and enthusiasm we’re seeing from the Republican grassroots," noting that August is typically a slow fundraising month.

"With the election a little over six weeks away, the NRSC is well-prepared to go on offense in battleground states around the country as we work to hold the Democrats accountable for their reckless spending agenda and fight to restore checks-and-balances in Washington," Jesmer said.

Republicans are also pointing to fundraising help the DSCC received from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who gave the committee $1 million in August.

As for the cash-on-hand differential between the two committees, Democrats point to the active role its committee has already taken in several key Senate contests. 

-- This post was updated at 6:55 p.m.