RNC pulls in $6 million for April

The Republican National Committee (RNC) raised $6 million in April, a sum that allowed it to pay down more of its debt.

The RNC pulled in $6 million and ended the month with about $6 million in cash on hand, according to a party source.

The April fundraising allowed the RNC to pay down about $1 million in debt. Following Michael Steele's chairmanship, the committee started the year about $24 million in the hole.

New RNC Chairman Reince Priebus has made fundraising a top priority of his chairmanship; he told The Hill last week that he saw his mission as chairman to be one of building an organization that could compete with President Obama's heading into the 2012 election.

"I think we have to focus in on winning in 2012. Which means we have to create a functional, operational Republican National Committee. We need to raise a tremendous amount of money," he said. "We have a president who's pledged to raise a billion dollars in hard dollars through his campaign organization and the DNC. So we have our work cut out for us."

The Democratic National Committee will release its monthly figures Friday. Its totals are sure to reflect the barnstorm of fundraising upon which Obama has embarked since formally announcing his reelection campaign in early April.