Party activity summary through April 2008
From January 1, 2007, through April 30, 2008, receipts of the national committees of the Democratic party increased significantly while receipts of Republican national committees declined over the same period, when compared with earlier election cycles. Republican committees still raised more overall than their Democratic counterparts, though the gap is smaller now than in previous years.
The three national committees of the Democratic party (the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)) reported raising a total of $247 million during this period, an increase of 24 percent over a similar period in 2006, and 45 percent more than during the first 16 months of the 2004 election cycle. The three Republican national party committees (the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)) reported raising $260.4 million during the same period. This represents decreases of 11 percent from 2006 and 19 percent from 2004 totals.
The DSCC and DCCC reported substantial gains, while total receipts declined slightly for the DNC. The highest growth came from the DCCC, whose $92.9 million in receipts through April 30, 2008, represented a 53 percent increase over 2006 levels. This total was $23.6 million more than the NRCC raised during the same period.
Each of the Republican party's national committees reported revenue declines when compared to prior cycles. The RNC raised $143.3 million from January 2007 through April 2008, down 5 percent from 2006. The $47.9 million raised by the NRSC represented a decline of 11 percent, while the NRCC raised $69.3 million, down 21 percent from 2006.
The RNC has reported improved fundraising recently with receipts totaling $57.6 million during just the first four months of this year, $11.8 million more than it raised from January through April of 2006. DNC receipts in the first four months of 2008 totaled $22.8 million, $700,000 less than its tally in the same months of 2006.
Additional information for state and local party committees that file with the Commission is available through March 31, 2008.(1) Democratic party committees at all levels reported significant increases in receipts during this period, while overall Republican party receipts declined from 2006. Democratic party committees reported receipts of $274.9 million from January 1, 2007, through March 31, 2008. This represented an increase of 24 percent over a similar period in 2004 and was 52 percent higher than the total raised through March of 2004, the most recent Presidential campaign cycle. Contributions to Republican committees totaled $287.6 million in the same period, a decline of 14 percent compared with 2006 and 17 percent lower than Republican party fundraising in the first 15 months of the 2004 Presidential campaign.
Individuals are by far the largest source of federal funds for party committees. Republican committees reported receiving $246.3 million from individuals (86 percent of their receipts), while Democrats received $210.5 million (77 percent of their total).
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) changed contribution limits, increasing the limit for individuals giving to national parties to $25,000, adjusted for inflation. The inflation-adjusted limit for the 2007-2008 election cycle is $28,500. All national committees, except the DSCC, continue to receive more dollars from contributions in amounts less than $200 than from contributions in any other category.
Political action committees (PACs) and other committees contributed $30.2 million to Republican party committees and $49.4 million to Democratic party committees in 2007-2008. Much of this total comes from House Democrats who contributed $22.5 million from their campaign accounts to the DCCC. House Republicans contributed $11.6 million to the NRCC.
Additional information is available in a Press Release dated June 9, 2008. The release, which is available on the FEC web site at https://www.fec.gov/updates/fec-summarizes-party-financial-activity-2/, provides summary data tables for the financial activities of the two major political parties from January 1, 2007, to April 30, 2008, and comparisons for the same period in previous election cycles. National committees of the major parties are required to submit financial reports on a monthly basis.
(1) Some state and local party committees are permitted to file reports on a quarterly basis, so the most current information for them covers only through March 31, 2008.