Chris Shays must have been thinking about this when he floated out his “give me a chairmanship or I quit” demand a few weeks ago. This being the reports that are scuttling many plans to for Republican congresscriters to fund challenger campaigns.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) reported $1.6 million in cash on hand and $4 million in debts as of Aug. 31. The group helps bankroll House campaigns for GOP candidates.
Its counterpart, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, reported $22.1 million, more than 10 times its Republican counterpart.
Campaign finance experts say the latest numbers portend an ill future for GOP candidates, particularly newcomers who haven’t had years in office to build up a war chest.
"If there’s no money in the bank, it’s going to be hard to take seats away from the Democrats," said Massie Ritsch of the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C.-based campaign finance watchdog group.
Things aren’t looking so good for the Senate Republican coffers either, the same report cites $7 million in the bank to the Democrats $20 million. The national parties themselves show a different trend, the RNC has raised $57.3 million to the DNC’s $36.8 million, but that might just be a reflection of presidential politics.
source: the blotter: abcnews by Avni Patel, September 26, 2007
