WASHINGTON – National committees of the two major parties raised just over $1.4 billion and spent $1.36 billion between January 1, 2003 , and November 22, 2004 , according to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) compilation of information from the most recent reports submitted by party committees at the national, state, and local levels.

  Republican committees, including the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and state and local committees who report to the FEC raised $755.3 million between January 1, 2003 and November 22, 2004 in federally permissible “hard money.” The Democratic National Committee (DNC), Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and state and local committees raised $683.6 million. Democratic party receipts were more than 150% higher than in the comparable period during the 2000 presidential campaign, while Republican party fundraising grew by 69% when compared with the same period. Overall, these hard money totals for both parties' national committees were greater than the combined hard and soft money raised in any prior campaign.

  The 2004 election cycle is the first in which national parties have been prohibited from receiving “soft money” as a result of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). While the DNC and RNC raised substantially more this cycle than before, even counting soft money, both parties' Senatorial and Congressional committees raised less in 2004 than they had in previous cycles when soft money is included. The following table shows “hard money” fundraising through 20 days after the election compared with both hard and soft money receipts from the same period in previous cycles.

(millions of Dollars)

Spending directly in support of federal candidates has also increased substantially in 2004. Democratic party committees have reported a total of $175.9 million in independent expenditures, which advocate the election of specific candidates but are not coordinated with campaigns. The DNC reported independent expenditures of $120.4 million on presidential candidates through November 22. In addition, Democratic committees spent a total of $30.2 million in coordinated expenditures on behalf of general election candidates. The law imposes limits on this spending for each candidate. Republican party committees have reported $88.4 million in independent expenditures and $29.2 million in coordinated expenditures. Spending on these activities had declined during the period when soft money activity was increasing for the parties. In addition, while the RNC reported making $18.2 million in independent expenditures, they have also reported $45.8 million in “generic media expenses” with which they have shared costs of broadcast ads with Bush-Cheney '04.

Sources of receipts for national party committees are examined in more detail in tables attached to this release. These tables show that all national committees substantially increased their contributions from individuals and also the financial support they received from federal candidates. Particularly noteworthy were the large transfers the DNC and RNC received from their Presidential nominees during the final weeks of the campaign. The breakdown of individual contributions by size shows that while proceeds from small unitemized contributions grew considerably for each committee, they did not grow as quickly as contributions that reached the maximum under federal law. This limit was changed in BCRA from $20,000 per year to $25,000 per year for each individual.

Tables in this release include financial overviews for national and state/local committees of the two major parties for the post election period. Transfers from national to state parties are listed by state.

Democratic Party Committee Financial Activity Through 20 Days After the General Election  [EXCEL] [PDF]

Republican Party Committee Financial Activity Through 20 Days After the General Election  [EXCEL] [PDF]

Sources of Receipts - DNC and RNC [EXCEL] [PDF]

Sources of Receipts - Senatorial Campaign Committees [EXCEL] [PDF]

Sources of Receipts - Congressional Campaign Committees [EXCEL] [PDF]

National Party Transfers to States  [EXCEL] [PDF]