The GOP’s Big Cash Advantage

17 Oct, 2006 by John Hawkins

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The GOP does have at least two cards left to play in the closing weeks of the election. The first is their vaunted, “Get Out The Vote,” program. The second is their significant cash advantage over the Democrats. How big is it? Here are some details from the WAPO:

“Despite a rush of campaign donations to Democrats earlier this year, Republican incumbents in highly competitive races in the House have a substantial cash advantage going into the final weeks before the midterm elections.

Democrats spent more heavily over the summer and early autumn than their Republican rivals in pivotal House districts, leaving themselves at a disadvantage of more than 2 to 1 in money on hand, according to a Washington Post analysis of the latest campaign disclosures.

…At the same time, Democrats are on a better financial footing in open seats — those in which an incumbent is not running. Of the 12 open House races considered tight, Republicans have more cash on hand in seven of them and Democrats are ahead in five, the Post analysis shows.

…The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter about elections, identifies 31 House Republicans in closely contested campaigns. According to their financial reports filed over the weekend, they had a total of $32.7 million in cash on hand as of Sept. 30, compared with $14.5 million for their Democratic challengers.

The National Republican Congressional Committee circulated an internal memo yesterday — which a Republican gave to The Post — noting that GOP candidates hold an average cash advantage of $450,000 in 25 of the most competitive districts.

…The parties are scheduled to release their financial reports at the end of the week. At summer’s end, the Republican and Democratic House campaign committees had similar amounts in the bank — $36 million for the GOP committee and $34.9 million for the Democrats’. The Republican National Committee held an edge of nearly 4 to 1 over the Democratic National Committee in cash on hand — $39.3 million to $10.9 million, as of Aug. 30.”

If the GOP is going to win the election, we’re probably going to have to beat the Democrats 4 to 1 in districts that look to be toss-ups right now. The good news is that with the kind of cash advantage that Republicans have, pulling off that kind of winning streak isn’t out of the question.