PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats’ campaign arm spent heavily last month but still has almost $55 million left in the bank for an uphill fight against the Republican majority, party officials said Thursday.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s summary of fundraising through August shows it collected more than $10 million last month, taking its total for this election cycle to more than $146 million. The summary also indicates it spent $12 million in August alone, as officials began to empty bank accounts on ads to help Democratic candidates.
Its GOP rival, the National Republican Congressional Committee, has not yet released its August fundraising tally and faces a Saturday deadline to do so. Republicans ended July with almost $48 million in their bank accounts.
Heading into August, the Democrats had outraised the Republicans in 17 of the previous 19 months despite long odds of tipping control of the chamber away from Republicans.
Republicans are expected to hold onto their majority after November’s elections, when all 435 House seats are up for election. Redrawn congressional districts favor Republicans and only a handful of seats are seen as competitive. At the same time, the party that holds the White House tends to lose seats at this point in a president’s tenure and President Barack Obama remains deeply unpopular in many congressional districts.
Political giving and spending have continued at a rapid clip. The Republican congressional committee has booked $30 million in airtime ahead of November’s elections. Democrats have reserved $44 million in advertising.
There are 233 Republicans and 199 Democrats in the House. Three seats are vacant.
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