Dems See Big Donor Boost
The DNC has vacuumed up millions more from big donors now that Pres. Obama lives in the WH, while their GOP counterparts have seen a drop-off in big donor support, according to a new analysis by the FEC.
The DNC raised $16M from donors who gave more than $10K, according to the FEC, accounting for more than 21% of the $76M the party raised from individuals over the last year. That's up from about $9M the party raised from big donors in '07, when they didn't control the WH.
But the GOP has seen a big drop in the number of wealthy donors writing checks. FEC records show donors giving more than $10K accounted for just under $2.8M, or about 3.5% of the individual contributions the party received.
RNC chair Michael Steele has been touting the number of small-dollar donors the party has won over, and FEC records show a surge in donations under $200. The party raised $62.6M from donors giving less than $200, accounting for 77% of the RNC's individual recepits last year; that's up from $51.3M during '07, but on par with '05 and '03.
In total, the DNC saw a 58% surge in individual contributions last year, while the RNC's individual haul slumped by 2.5%. In fact, along with the DNC, only one party committee -- the NRSC -- saw their receipts from individuals rise; the NRSC raised $32.8M from individuals in '09, up from $25.6M in '07.
Amid a slumping economy, big-dollar giving was down virtually across the board. The DSCC, the DCCC and hte NRCC all saw a drop-off among individuals contributing more than $20K.
Meanwhile, most committees had less money in the bank at the beginning of this year than they did at the end just 2 years ago. The RNC, the NRCC, the DSCC and the DCCC all have less than half the amount in the bank now than they did at the beginning of '08. The NRSC has about 2/3rds as much as they did to start the '08 cycle. Only the DNC, which began '08 with a paltry $2.9M in the bank, has seen their cash reserves balloon.
After the jump, we bring you a comparison for each national party committee.
Note: '09 and '07 figures are for year-end amounts. Current cash on hand are figures as of Jan. 31, the last month for which figures are available.2009 2007 2009 Cash 2007 Cash Committee Receipts Receipts On Hand On Hand DNC $83.8M $54.8M $8.68M $2.96M RNC $91.1M $85.7M $8.42M $17.4MDSCC $43.6M $55.4M $12.6M $29.4M
NRSC $41.2M $31.8M $8.31M $12.1MDCCC $55.6M $67.5M $16.7M $35.1M
NRCC $36.2M $49.6M $2.67M $5.48MCurrent Current
Committee CoH Debt
DNC $10.2M $4.68M
RNC $9.48M $0DSCC $12.9M $833K
NRSC $10.6M $0DCCC $18.3M $1.33M
NRCC $4.13M $0
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