GOP House members amp up giving

In the first two months of 2010, GOP members of Congress have donated nearly four times as much cash to the National Republican Congressional Committee as their Democratic counterparts have donated to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The NRCC took in $2.07 million this year from 57 House members, going a long way toward accelerating the party’s sluggish fundraising pace last year. In February, the committee raised $5.08 million overall, its best monthly performance of the election cycle and the highest total of all four congressional campaign committees that month.

The average GOP member donation to its campaign committee during that time was $36,300, according to a POLITICO analysis. House Minority Leader John Boehner ($200,000), NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions ($100,000), Michigan Rep. Candice Miller ($120,000), Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling ($112,000), Texas Rep. Joe Barton ($100,000) and Alabama Rep. Spencer Bachus ($100,000) all transferred six-figure donations.

The DCCC, which received ample assistance from its members last year, saw the pace taper off at the beginning of 2010. Only 26 Democratic members donated in the first two months of the year, netting the committee just $564,000. The average Democratic member donation was $21,700, and no member transferred more than $50,000.

The DCCC is hoping to add to their bankroll with an assist from some of their well-funded retiring members. Retiring Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.) donated $50,000 to the committee, and Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) donated $10,000, but that’s a small fraction of the million-dollar-plus stockpiles that they’re sitting on.

Three other swing-district Democrats who recently announced their retirements — Reps. Brian Baird (D-Wash.), Dennis Moore (D-Kan.) and Marion Berry (D-Ark.) — haven’t yet given any money to the DCCC this cycle. Each reported at least $443,000 in their accounts at the end of last year.
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