Schumer “Kicking Ass” as Senate Fundraising Chair

The reports are in: As Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Chuck Schumer is blowing away his GOP counterpart, National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Elizabeth Dole.

The DSCC raised $6.9M in March ’06 compared to the NRSC’s $5M, and maintains a crushing Schumer_1
$32.1M to $16.5M cash-on-hand edge
as the campaign committee strategists begin seriously evaluating where to place their financial chips on the national board.

One NJ Republican working to elect Tom Kean Jr. in the Jersey Senate contest — already concerned about Kean’s slow fundraising pace — worried the growing DSCC/NRSC fundraising disparity will further hurt the GOP candidate in the campaign end game.

“Schumer’s kicking our ass in the fundraising department — and we need to get moving,” said the Kean-backer.

In years past, through the 2002 elections, the NRSC consistently crushed the DSCC in the race for cash. In the 2001-2002 cycle, the GOP committee raised $154.4 million, compared with the Senate Democrats’ $60.3 million.

But this trend has been turned in recent years. In the 2003-2004 cycle, Democrats for the first time pulled ahead of the NRSC. Based on the new fundraising reports, the Washington Post is reporting today that “there have been growing complaints in Republican circles about the chairmanship of Sen. Elizabeth Dole (N.C.), who was elected to the post in part because of her reputation as a fundraiser.”

Choose from archives