GOP Has Raised Record $31.7M So Far This Year
RNC Has Collected About Three Times as Much as DNC

By SHARON THEIMER
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (April 4) - The Republican National Committee raised a record $31.7 million in the first three months of the year, collecting three times as much money that can be spent directly for candidates as the Democrats.

The total comes before May gala headlined by President Bush that the RNC expects will raise at least as much as the $23.9 million the event took in last year.

''We're going to spend it in races across the country where we feel we can be helpful,'' RNC spokesman Kevin Sheridan said. ''Right now we are in process of targeting races where we think we can have the biggest impact.''

About $26 million - or more than $8 of every $10 - in RNC donations so far this year came in hard money. Such contributions are limited in size and the sources they can come from but can be spent in any way, including direct support of candidates.

Under a law Bush signed last week, hard money will be the only kind party committees can raise after the fall election.

The Democratic National Committee raised $26 million in the first quarter of the year, about $8 million of it hard money.

The rest was ''soft money,'' which can be given in any amount and unlike hard money, may come from labor unions and corporations. It can only be used for party-building expenses such as the DNC headquarters and get-out-the-vote activities, however. It can't be spent directly on federal candidates.

Charles Whitehead, former chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, said the Republicans' fund-raising advantage should worry Democratic candidates in the fall election and the 2004 presidential race.

''I wish it wasn't true, but today money is the mother's milk of politics,'' Whitehead said. ''You cannot be competitive if, whether it be hard or soft money, your competitor is outraising you by 25 percent.''

More than half the DNC's first-quarter fund-raising total came in a handful of soft-money checks for a new party headquarters and technology upgrade, including $7 million and $5 million each from two Hollywood executives.

The DNC's $8 million in hard money came from direct mail fund-raising, a record first-quarter total from that source, DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe wrote in a letter to Democratic leaders released Thursday.

The DNC has been pushing to expand its donor base and has looked to direct mail and fund-raising on the Internet to help.

The party went from about 70,000 e-mail addresses last year to nearly 1 million this year, and is on track to have 1 million direct-mail donors this year, compared with 400,000 a year ago, McAuliffe wrote.

In one recent direct-mail piece, McAuliffe focused on Bush's budget plan, telling prospective donors it would ''leave Social Security and Medicare vulnerable - and put America's seniors and working families at risk.''

''We don't expect ever to outraise the Republicans,'' DNC spokeswoman Maria Cardona said. ''But we work harder and we work smarter. With the chairman's focus being making the small-dollar donor the backbone of the party, that is going to put the party in the position to be competitive both in November and in '04 and beyond.''

Democrats also benefit from an extensive base of grass-roots activists, thanks in large part to labor unions, Cardona said.

The Republicans have long made aggressive use of direct mail to raise money and are also looking to the Internet to expand their base of activists and donors.

The RNC has about 2.2 million people on its e-mail list. The party raised $24.8 million from direct mail, telephone solicitation and Internet fund-raising in the first quarter of the year.

Florida Democrat Whitehead said the Republicans have the president and Cabinet officials to help raise money, each reaching a different constituency.

''Today we've got Bill Clinton, Bill Clinton and Bill Clinton. And Bill Clinton,'' he said.

Bush's coattails have a particularly long reach in Florida's governor's race, where Democratic former Attorney General Janet Reno is challenging Bush's brother, Republican incumbent Jeb Bush, Whitehead said.

The DNC finished the quarter with $23 million on hand and roughly $9 million in debt. The RNC has $38.8 million on hand and no debt.

Also Thursday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said it raised nearly $12 million in the first quarter, a new record for the committee at this point in an election year. The DCCC had $16.5 million on hand and no debt.

AP-NY-04-04-02 1902EST

I assume you were being facetious when you called this "good news?"

The Repblicrats have done nothing for gun owners lately.  Not passing any new laws is not "something" in my book.  

For you libertarians who didn't even get enough votes to qualify for Federal election matching funds in 04 I imagine it isn't very good news.[:)]

Which when translated, means they will ignore California, as usual. If anything, they should promote their cause in this state in hopes of winning converts.

Did get enough votes in 04? Working for Miss Cleo now are we?

The LP did have a candidate (you work for a psychic how come you didn't know this?) in a recent presidential election who qualified for federal matching funds but REFUSED them due to the principle (a word that most in the GOP don't have in their vocabulary) that it is not be the job of the government to "help" people get elected. So in effect it is a non-issue as the LP does not believe in government welfare handouts.