INSUFFICIENT FUNDS

RNC Has Only $5.5 Million

Dems' campaign chest almost twice as much.

The Republican National Committee has only $5.5 million on hand for the last leg of the midterm elections, causing many Republicans to worry that they won’t be able to capitalize on the favorable conditions that they believe will earn them majorities in Congress. The committee typically funds the crucial get-out-the-vote efforts that bring voters to the polls. The RNC has $2 million in debt, and raised $5.5 million July—less than half of the Democratic National Committee’s haul of $10.8 million. And $900,000 of the GOP fundraising sum came from an insurance settlement (details on that are scarce), meaning the RNC pulled in just $4.6 million. Other campaign committees have fared much better than the RNC (chaired by Michael Steele), with the National Republican Congressional Committee raising $8.5 million last month, better than its counterpart, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which brought in $6.2 million.