July RNC fundraising: absolutely anemic

[WI_DEM]

Normally, one would expect the party with the supposed momentum to be raking in a lot of dough as the election approaches. And normally, one would also expect a party in that position to file a press release putting the best spin possible on just how much they're raked in. But thankfully, Chairman Michael Steele is on hand to defy expectations yet again. In an unheralded Friday night filing, the RNC reported that it took in only $5.5 million in July, leaving it with $5 million cash on hand and $2 million in debt. Via Politico, this is a huge concern--because it's RNC money that has traditionally funded the vaunted Republican GOTV operation:

It indicated that the committee brought in slightly more than $5.5 million in July — less than half of what the DNC raised — while spending $11 million.

The RNC's money woes have many party leaders and operatives deeply worried about whether the GOP will be able to take full advantage of an otherwise promising election cycle. Of most concern are get-out- the-vote activities that are typically funded by the national committee. While the RNC OK’d a $10 million line-of-credit at its meeting earlier this month, that will still be insufficient to fund the sort of voter contact efforts needed across the House, Senate, gubernatorial and local races this year. Senior Republicans are expecting newly-created third-party groups such as American Crossroads to step in and assist with the ground game.

The DNC released its July fundraising numbers earlier this week, reporting that it had just over $10.8 million on hand while also carrying $3.5 million in debt.

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