With a preponderance of attention being paid to the 2008 presidential campaign, the Senate races being waged during this cycle have gone largely ignored by the national media. Which is unfortunate because history is being made.
On Thursday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced that it had raised $13.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, bringing its yearly total to $55.4 million. By comparison, the previous record for money raised in a year by the organization was $43.6 million in 2005.
"Every day there is more evidence that the American people are hungry for change and are looking to Democrats to provide it," DSCC Chair, Sen. Chuck Schumer. "From successful fundraising and recruiting to record turnout in Democratic primaries, there is a wave building across the country, and with nine months to go until Election Day, we could very well deliver lasting change."
On the House side, the Democrats also find their coffers being stuffed. For the year, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raised a record $67.5 million.
Of course, the job of both these organizations is not to break the fundraising bank but rather help secure victories for Democratic candidates. And in that regard too, the DSCC and DCCC seem extremely well positioned.
With the last quarter filings on the books, the DCCC finishing 2007 with $35.1 million cash on hand and only $1.3 million in debt. The DSCC, meanwhile, has more than $29 million in cash on hand, more than $17 million than the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The gap between the has grown steadily as the year's progress, with this being the fourth consecutive quarter in which the DSCC outpaced its Republican counterpart. The gap seems likely to widen, as spending on the Senate races won't truly begin until the summer.
NRSC Chairman Sen. John Ensign, whose job is to put a positive light on these numbers, even acknowledged an uphill battle in an interview with Real Clear Politics.
"First of all, a year out is really an eternity in politics," the Nevada Republican said.
"A year before the 2006 elections, if you would have asked Republicans and Democrats how they were feeling, which they did, you go back and read, you know, Republicans were feeling very, very good. Democrats were, you know, shaky at best... There are a lot of factors. You know, the mood in the country, you know, the hypothetical is if the election were held today, it might not go so well for us. But the election's not being held today.
In 2008 there are 12 Democratic Senators and 23 Republican who are either retiring or are up for reelection. Of those, according to the Cook Political Report, only two Democrats face any imminent danger, while 10 Republicans find themselves in electoral crosshairs. On the House side, meanwhile, there are ten Republican seats being vacated that are deemed "toss ups" in 2008. For the Democrats that number is zero.
"In the off year you have a few jobs: recruit candidates, retain incumbents and raise money," Matt Miller, the DSCC's spokesperson, told the Huffington Post. "We feel good about the off year we have and now that we are in an election year we have a map where there are a number of Republicans held seats where they are playing defense and really only one Democratic seat where they have a challenger."