House Republicans tout 'best March ever' for fundraising

The National Republican Congressional Committee had its "best March ever" but fell short of the Democrats' first quarter total.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised $19.6 million during the first three months of 2011, while the NRCC pulled in $18.1 million during the same period.

Democrats had trumpeted how they raised more than $1.2 million online in the month of March, when the party asked for campaign cash to help avert a potential for shutdown of the federal government. But the DCCC's grassroots' contributions were dwarfed by the $10.2 million the Republicans took in last month.

It was the "best month ever in a non-election year," according to an NRCC spokeswoman.

The NRCC is reporting $9.05 million cash on hand and $8 million in debt. The DCCC has $4.6 million in the bank and the same amount of debt as their GOP counterpart.