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Opinion: GOP, behind Dems in money race, gets help from Bush

By Matthew Hay Brown
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The National Republican Congressional Committee, which has lagged far behind its Democratic counterpart in fundraising this election cycle, went some distance toward closing that gap tonight –- with some help from President Bush.

With Bush headlining this evening’s dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel, the GOP’s House campaign operation reports receipts of more than $8.6 million. The one-night haul exceeds the $6.4 million total cash on hand the party committee reported at the end of January.

Although low in the national polls, Bush remains popular among the party faithful and has raised in excess of $50 million for the party in the last year.

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“The Democrats have piled up an abysmal record of broken promises, higher taxes and a liberal agenda that is out of step with the majority of Americans,” said Rep. Tom Cole, the Oklahoma Republican who chairs the NRCC. “With the funds raised tonight, we will be able to move forward in our efforts to rebuild a Republican majority.”

The NRCC, which helps find, train and fund Republican congressional candidates, still has a fair distance to go to catch the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which reported $35.5 million cash on hand at the end of January.

The fundraising difference can make a real difference on the ground. Over the weekend in Illinois, the Democrats’ ability to match the Republicans dollar for dollar in the 14th Congressional District race helped them wrest former Speaker Dennis Hastert’s seat from the GOP in a special election.

--Matthew Hay Brown

Matthew Hay Brown writes for the Swamp for the Chicago Tribune’s Washington Bureau.

Photo credit: KRISTOFFER TRIPPLAAR / EPA

Top of the Ticket
Matthew Hay Brown

As Senior Editor for Investigations and Enterprise, Matt leads The Sun’s investigations team, works with reporters throughout the newsroom on enterprise, and plans and edits the Sunday newspaper. As Senior Editor for National News, he assigns, manages and edits coverage of Washington, national security and the federal workforce. Matt has worked as a Washington correspondent covering Congress, the White House and national security, and as a foreign correspondent covering the Caribbean and Latin America. He has reported in English and Spanish from Iraq, Syria, Cuba, Haiti, Russia, China, Japan, South Africa and many other countries. As a staff writer at The Hartford Courant, he was a member of the team that won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Reporting. Matt earned a master’s degree with honors at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, and teaches journalism at the University of Maryland and the Catholic University of America.

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