http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/19/AR2008041902012.html Senate Democrats continued to dramatically outraise their Republican counterparts in the first three months of 2008, a differential almost certain to result in a huge spending disparity in competitive contests this fall.
From Jan. 1 to March 31, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee brought in nearly $17 million -- about $5 million more than the National Republican Senatorial Committee raised in the same time period. In March, the DSCC nearly doubled the take of its counterpart, bringing in $8.2 million to the GOP committee's $4.2 million.
Most troubling for Republican strategists is the growing chasm between the two committees' remaining war chests. The DSCC ended March with nearly $38 million in the bank, compared with $17.3 million for the Republican committee.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic committee and one of the most effective fundraisers in politics, has levered the majority he helped to build in 2006 to maximize the dollars collected to build on the gains of the last election. The DSCC is $4 million ahead of the pace it set in 2006 and has $5.6 million more in the bank that it did at this time last cycle.