Leadership Committee fundraising: NJ Republicans have more cash on hand than the NJ Democrats

by: Jason Springer

Thu Jan 21, 2010 at 07:26:11 PM EST

ELEC released the legislative leadership filing reports yesterday and while much of the attention was on the transition of administrations, the numbers are rather interesting for the filing period from October 1 to December 31:

The Senate Republican Majority PAC started the filing period with $518,013, raised $232,907, spent $239,067 and now has $511,923.25 cash-on-hand.
The Senate Democratic Majority {AC started the filing period with $987,869, raised $184,335, spent $694,266 and now has $457,937.65 cash-on hand.

Part of that spending was Dick Codey transferring money to the accounts of other Legislators before finishing as Senate President. On the Assembly side, the numbers look like this:

The Assembly Republican Victory PAC started the filing period with $244,156, raised $520,536, spent $690,413 and now has $74,279 cash-on-hand.
The Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee Pac started the filing period with $803,605, raised $923,114, spent $1,690,804 and now has $35,946 cash-on-hand.

So the Assembly Democrats spent over two and a half times as much as their Republican counterparts to stem the tide of the top of the ticket and maintain seats. And over at the State Committees, here's how things look:

The Republican State Committee PAC started the filing period with $148,381, raised $1,186,184, spent $1,126,256 and now has $208,309 cash-on-hand.
The Democratic State Committee PAC started the filing period with $373,882, raised $2,935,817, spent $3,300,608 and now has $9,607 cash-on-hand.

The Democratic State Committee can barely afford the rent right now, so you wonder what will happen with their staffing until those numbers increase. Whoever becomes the next state chair will have their work cut out for them.

Both the Senate and Assembly Republicans have more cash on hand than their Democratic counterparts and the fundraising landscape has changed. Republicans are the motivated party with a new Governor at the top to help lead those efforts. The Democrats are more depressed and a major funding source in the former Governor will not be there as a safety net for the party. The Democrats are going to need to go back to basics and build back up.

The party is also going to need to change the way it does fundraising. While people still point to gaps and holes in the system, the pay to play and contribution rules have been tightened significantly over the years:

Fundraising reports filed January 15 indicate that financial activity by the so-called "big six" committees has declined dramatically from four years ago, the last time there were campaigns for both the Governor's Office and the General Assembly.
Gross receipts reported by the "big six" were down 36 percent compared to similar reports for 2005. Spending showed a 34 percent decline from four years ago.

Just yesterday, Christie signed an executive order targeting labor fundraising and contributions. The landscape may change again as a result of the Supreme Court ruling earlier today. As Christie moves forward and governs, he may serve to motivate Democrats once again. But how the party raises money and organizes going forward will be essential to building back up.

Jason Springer :: Leadership Committee fundraising: NJ Republicans have more cash on hand than the NJ Democrats