Democratic Congressional Committee Raising More Than GOP Counterpart

Democrats Start Mission to Retake House in 2014

Mar 142013

Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Democrats have resurrected their attacks on Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan well ahead of the 2014 midterm elections.

Last year, when Ryan was Mitt Romney’s pick as the GOP vice presidential nominee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) lambasted the lawmaker and his initial plan to trim $5.6 trillion from the federal budget over a decade, saying it would benefit the rich and hurt everyone else.

Democrats only picked up a handful of seats last November with Republicans still firmly in control of the House. But the DCCC believes that it can severely harm GOP chances of retaining the House next year by tying lawmakers to their support for the Ryan budget.

The plan is to harp on Ryan’s goal to eventually privatize Medicare as well as repeal the Affordable Care Act.

To that end, the DCCC has already released a video on YouTube called “Paul Ryan’s Fantasy,” which shows some of his own party members expressing doubts about the budget while Democratic critics mock Republican attempts at jettisoning the healthcare law.

DCCC Reviewing Sheldon Adelson’s Lawsuit Threat

Jul 192012

Jerome Favre/Bloomberg via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Las Vegas Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson has threatened to sue the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) if it does not immediately retract and apologize for what Adelson’s lawyers call defamatory statements, “falsely accusing Mr. Adelson of encouraging and profiting from prostitution.”

ABC News obtained a copy of the letter sent to the DCCC, which claimed articles posted on the DCCC’s website are “outrageous and completely untrue.” The articles were in relation to reports that said the Las Vegas Sands Corp. CEO approved and knew of prostitution at the casino’s Macau location.

Adelson’s spokesman denied the claim after it surfaced last month, and his spokesman repeated on Wednesday the assertion that the prostitution claims are false.

While Adelson’s lawyer would not comment on the threatened lawsuit, a spokesman for Adelson told ABC News that he believes the letter and a related legal document “very clearly” speak for themselves.

DCCC spokesman Jesse Ferguson told ABC News that the DCCC just received the letter from Adelson’s legal team, will be internally reviewing it and did not immediately have a response.

Because Adelson is one of the most influential donors in the Republican Party, the DCCC asked on its website in regard to the prostitution claim, “What will Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor and House Republicans do with their Chinese prostitution money?”

In a separate post, Ferguson is quoted saying, “It’s past time for House Republicans to reject the support of these groups funded by foreign money from a Chinese prostitution strategy.”

Adelson’s lawyers claim the DCCC’s statements were “widely repeated” online and caused “serious and irreparable injury to Mr. Adelson and his family.”

House Dems Raised More Cash Than GOP in May

Jun 192012

iStockPhoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — the group that oversees Democratic House races — slightly out-raised their Republican counterparts, the National Republican Congressional Committee, for the month of May, according to figures released by both committees.

The DCCC raised just under $6.7 million for the reporting period, which covers the period from May 1 to May 31 — a slight increase from April, when the committee reported taking in about $6.5 million. The NRCC raised $6 million in May, a drop from April’s roughly $6.9 million haul. The NRCC reports having more cash on hand than the DCCC, however — $33.5 million to the DCCC’s $27.5 million.

As of the last reporting period, both committees reported owing no debts.

Democrats have been saying for several months now that they believe they can and will win back control of the House of Representatives in the fall. They need a net gain of 25 seats in order to win a majority.

The DCCC has pulled in strong fundraising in the year and a half since Republicans won control of the House, raising $10.13 million more than their GOP counterparts, according to figures provided to ABC News by the DCCC.

The filing deadline for May financial disclosure reports is Wednesday, June 20.

Democratic Congressional Committee Raising More Than GOP Counterpart

Apr 172012

Comstock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — There’s good news Tuesday for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which oversees the 435 races in the House of Representatives. The committee out-raised its Republican counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee, for the month of March.

The DCCC raised $9.8 million last month, about $500,000 more than the NRCC’s $9.3 million.

Despite losing the majority in the House of Representatives after the 2010 midterm elections, the DCCC has been out-raising its Republican opponents with some regularity, beating the NRCC for five months in a row. Most political spectators credit the committee’s strong fundraising to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s proven talent for raising money.

But the NRCC has more cash on hand. It has about $27.1 million while the DCCC is about $4 million behind, with $22.8 million.

Both committees reported having no debts.