Fundraising

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has registered a super-PAC, federal election commission filings show.

The organization that promotes equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals registered the Human Rights Campaign Equality Votes committee with the commission in December.

James Rinefierd, the vice president of finance and operations at HRC, is the treasurer for the new independent expenditure committee. The super-PAC is based out of Washington, D.C.

Campaigns will be keeping a close eye on the “invisible primary” as year-end fundraising results start to trickle in.

The Federal Election Commission has been deadlocked on most attempts to create new campaign regulations.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee brought in $2.9 million for its efforts to take back the Senate in November, besting their Democratic counterpart by almost one-half million dollars.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $2.5 million in November, but had $11 million in the bank heading into the last month before election year, while Republicans had just $9.1 million. Democrats also hold a $2 million advantage over Republicans in funds raised overall in 2011.

The NRSC has also kept its numbers solidly in the black, reporting no debt in November. The DSCC has not released its debt number, but owed about $750,000 at the end of October.

November also showed an odd pattern of the underdog outraising the party in power. House Democrats had a better November than did House Republicans, even though the GOP controls the lower chamber. And despite the looming reelection campaign of President Obama, the Republican National Committee edged out the Democratic National Committee for the second month in a row in November.

The Republican National Committee raised $7.1 million in November, making it the second month in a row that the GOP has bested Democrats in both fundraising and cash on hand.

But Democrats are saddled with less debt than Republicans in the run-up to election year.

The Democratic National Committee pulled in $6.7 million in November — including about $2.8 million transferred from President Obama's reelection campaign, according to a report filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission. Democrats have about $10.5 million in the bank, compared to $14.1 million for the GOP.

Republicans pointed out that they've bested their Democratic rivals for three out of the past four months, with September being the exception. And Democrats have the advantage of having an incumbent president for their donors to rally behind, while Republicans are raising money in the background of the GOP presidential primary.

Democratic campaign groups wasted no time turning a vote by House Republicans to reject the Senate's payroll tax deal into a pitch for 2012 campaign cash.

Within an hour of the House's vote, both the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and EMILY's List, a political action committee (PAC) that supports female Democrats, had emailed their supporters with a message merging outrage with an appeal for contributions.

"Minutes ago, Tea Party Republicans blocked a bipartisan bill to extend President Obama’s payroll tax cut," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote to DCCC supporters, adding that middle-class Americans would see their taxes go up unless House GOP leaders backed down. "It is up to us to ensure that voters in their districts are aware of the damage that House Republicans are wreaking on behalf of the Tea Party fringe and the top 1 percent."

EMILY's List founder Ellen Malcolm also penned an appeal, blasting a message to the PAC's supporters with the subject "What's happened in Washington."

"Like you, I'm fed up with what's happened in Washington since the Tea Party rode into town," Malcolm wrote. "But they're about to get their comeuppance — because EMILY's List has a record number of passionate, experienced and dedicated women stepping up to run for office."

Democrats in the House outraised Republicans by about $1 million in November, but Republicans have cleared out the last of their debt and have more in the bank as the election year approaches.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $4.1 million in November to the National Republican Congressional Committee's $3.1 million, according to reports from both committees.

The DCCC is also leading its GOP counterpart in funds raised for the year by more than $4 million — an impressive feat for the party out of power.

Both parties raised less in November than they did the month before. In October, the NRCC came out on top in the money race, raising $4.6 million to the DCCC's $4.2 million.

The NRCC is now debt-free, having paid off the final $500,000 it still owed in October. Democrats over the past month paid off half of the $1.3 million they owed, and the DCCC is asserting it too will be debt-free by the end of 2011.

Two political action committees registered with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday claiming to represent the values of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Todd Bailey, a senior government affairs specialist at KSE Partners in Vermont, registered Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Today and Occupy Your Democracy as PACs.

“Really what we're working on are the issues exposed with the Occupy Wall Street Movement,” Bailey said. “It appears that the Occupy movement will be sitting out the electoral process, and the people who I work for want to make sure those ideals are discussed.” 

One of the PACs registered Wednesday will eventually be turned into an independent expenditure committee, or super PAC, Bailey said.

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"The best way to fight back in this war is to elect more women," Sen. Boxer told EMILY's List donors.

Political groups representing the left and the right have already spent an eye-popping $35 million.