News Guide: So much cash, FEC struggles to keep up

PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Political parties and their campaign committees faced a Thursday deadline — their last before Election Day — to disclose how much cash each raised last month and how much they had on hand for the final push toward Nov. 4.

At stake: control of the Senate, the size of the Republicans’ majority in the House and the political tone in Washington for the last two years of President Barack Obama’s time in the White House. Cash was coming from all quarters — so much, in fact, that the Federal Election Commission website was struggling to keep up.

Highlights from the campaign finance reports:

SENATE AWASH IN CASH …

Senate Republicans’ campaign arm picked up $10.1 million during the first two weeks of October and has spent roughly $35.5 million since Sept. 1. The RNC wrote the National Republican Senatorial Committee $4 million in checks on Oct. 2.

The NRSC also said it had $10 million saved.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had not yet released its numbers Thursday evening.

Donors are flooding the campaign committees with late cash as they realize it is increasingly possible that the Republicans will take over the Senate. The parties broke fundraising records in September.

If Republicans pick up six seats, they will capture control of the Senate for the first time since the 2006 midterm elections gave control to Democrats.

The DSCC raised $16 million in September and began October with more than $14 million ready to spend. The group also spent $27 million over a 30-day period in September, emptying bank accounts that have collected $127 million between Jan. 1 2013 and Oct. 1, 2014.

The NRSC, meanwhile, raised $15.5 million last month — roughly four times its average monthly haul this cycle. The Republicans have collected $108 million since January 2013.

Democrats have consistently bested Republicans when it comes to getting supporters to open their wallets. Heading into October, the DSCC had outraised the NRSC in 19 of the 21 months this campaign cycle — and every month this year.

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… SO MUCH SENATE CASH THE FEC BROKE

The Federal Election Commission late Thursday apologized that it was taking so long to get fundraising totals loaded onto its website.

The FEC blamed “unusually large paper reports filed by U.S. Senate candidates.” Unlike House contenders or super PACs that file directly to the FEC, the Senate allows its members and hopefuls to file ink-and-paper copies to the Senate clerk’s office. The clerk processes the reports and sends them along to the FEC, creating delays of days or weeks.

“Total page numbers far exceed all previous election cycles,” the FEC said. “We regret the delay and are taking urgent action to publish copies of all Senate reports as quickly as possible.”

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SAFELY GOP HOUSE STILL HOOKING DONORS

Control of the House is almost guaranteed to stay in Republican hands, but the two parties’ committees focused on those races spent almost $51 million in the first two weeks of October — or an average of almost $3.4 million every day.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said it raised $8.8 million in early October and has $16 million on hand for the final three weeks before Election Day.

The National Republican Congressional Committee began October with $34 million in the bank but has been spending aggressively, leaving it with $16 million for the final three weeks before Election Day.

The NRCC said it raised $5.9 million and has $15.1 million banked. It began October with $33.1 million and spent $23.9 million.

Combined, the two committees have now raised $303 million and have spent almost $272 million.

Democrats have consistently outraised the GOP. Since January 2013, House Republicans’ campaign committee has been raising about 75 cents for every $1 the Democrats have.

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PARTIES TAKING OUT LOANS

Donors gave the Republican National Committee $8.1 million during the first two weeks of October, and the party borrowed another $5 million to help its campaign allies working on House and Senate races.

The Democratic National Committee did not keep up. The DNC raised $6.2 million during the first two weeks of October and sent $1.5 million to its campaign committee working to defend the party’s majority in the Senate. Officials said total DNC aid to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee would reach $5 million by Election Day.

Heading into October, the RNC had outraised the DNC in 12 of the past 21 months. This year, though, the DNC had bested the RNC in six of nine months.

The RNC borrowing made possible $4 million to help the National Republican Senatorial Committee and $1 million to assist the National Republican Congressional Committee. The RNC also has sent $1.5 million to state parties to help get-out-the-vote efforts in competitive Senate races.

In total, more than $16 million went out the RNC’s doors since Oct. 1.

The RNC’s total spending since January 2013 is more than $174 million. It raised almost $177 million in the same period.

The DNC had raised $143 million and had spent $136 million. The DNC also continues to carry about $2.6 million in debt.

DNC officials said they were opening a line of credit from which they could borrow for the final weeks. Because the documents were not signed before Oct. 15, details about that decision will not be disclosed until postelection financial forms are filed on Dec. 4.

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OIL, CHICKENS FUND KOCH SUPER PAC

Other nuggets found in the reports:

–Freedom Partners Action Fund, the newly formed super PAC within the Koch brothers’ political network, raised almost $5 million in early October. Most of it came from three donors who each wrote $1 million checks: oil billionaire Paul Foster of El Paso, Texas; poultry magnate Ron Cameron’s Arkansas-based Mountaire Corp.; and a trust in the name of Chicago-area investor Roger Stone.

–Democrats’ biggest super PAC that is spending on Senate races collected another $4.2 million in early October. Las Vegas-area union groups, banding as Working For Working Americans, gave $500,000 to Senate Majority PAC, taking their total giving to $2.5 million. Alida Messinger, sister to West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller and an heir to the Rockefeller fortune, also wrote a $500,000 check.

–Billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg continued to be the sole individual donor to his super PAC. He wrote almost $5.2 million to his political operation in early October, taking his total giving to the group this cycle to almost $7 million.

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Follow Philip Elliott on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/philip_elliott

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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