By Jonathan D. Salant

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- The Democratic Senate and House fundraising committees had three times more cash than their Republican counterparts as of Jan. 31, enhancing the party's chances of keeping control of Congress.

The Democratic committees have raised more money than the Republicans for the first time since at least 1991, when the Federal Election Commission began compiling records. As 2008 began, Democratic candidates had more cash on hand than Republicans in 31 of the 41 most competitive House and Senate races, FEC filings show.

``I don't see how it would be anything else but ominous,'' Republican consultant :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Eddie Mahe said.

The Democratic House and Senate committees reported $66 million in the bank on Jan. 31, compared with $20 million for the Republicans. Some of that advantage was offset by the Republican National Committee's fundraising success. It reported $22 million on hand as of Jan. 31 compared with $3 million for the Democratic National Committee, though most of those funds traditionally are spent on the presidential campaign.

``It's not a bailout, but it will in large part fill some gaps'' for Republican congressional candidates, :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Stuart Roy, a former spokesman for ex-House Majority Leader :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Tom DeLay, said of the national committee's war chest.

Democratic Advantage

FEC records show Democratic candidates had more cash than Republicans in four of the six most competitive Senate seats and 27 of the 35 House races rated most competitive by Congressional Quarterly, the Cook Political Report and the Rothenberg Political Report, the three Washington-based publications that track congressional contests.

That gives the party in power an edge in defending shaky Democratic seats and knocking off vulnerable Republican incumbents.

Democrats have more money in the bank in all three of the most competitive Senate races in which Republicans aren't seeking re-election. The same holds for eight of the 10 such House contests in which Republican incumbents are departing.

``Going into the cycle, people thought we were playing defense,'' said Representative :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. ``We remain very much on offense.''

The party's fundraising ability, keyed to developing grassroots support and more small donations, has helped it recruit strong candidates in many competitive races.

After Congress in 2002 voted to ban corporate, union and unlimited individual donations to the political parties, the Democrats spent $30 million to develop a base of donors who give small amounts, former DCCC Executive Director :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">James Bonham said.

Smaller Donors

The Republicans have long had such a base, and Democratic presidential hopeful :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Barack Obama has relied on smaller donors to raise record amounts of money.

``The upshot is when you invest in small-dollar fundraising, it pays out over a period of time,'' Bonham said.

Democrats won control of Congress in 2006 and hold a 51-49 edge in the Senate, including two independents who usually vote with them, and a 232-198 margin in the House, with five vacancies.

Republicans will have to return to their most loyal contributors to try to narrow the fundraising gap, said Mahe, a former Republican National Committee deputy chairman.

``It's going to be very difficult for the party and for most candidates to recruit new contributors,'' he said.

Open Seats

Democrats have no such problem. Former Virginia Governor :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Mark Warner and U.S. Representative :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Mark Udall of Colorado are two of the Democrats competing for open Senate seats now held by Republicans. In the House, Democrats running for open Republican seats include Debbie Halvorson of Illinois, seeking to succeed :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Jerry Weller, and Ann Kirkpatrick, bidding for the seat held by :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Rick Renzi. All have out-raised their Republican opponents.

``That's the big story,'' said :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Michael Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance Institute, a Washington-based research group. ``I can't remember when Democrats on average have raised more money for Republican-held seats than Republicans have.''

Four House Democratic challengers had more money to spend at the start of 2008 than their Republican incumbents: Jim Hines in Connecticut, :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Mark Schauer in Michigan, Eric Massa in New York and :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Darcy Burner in Washington.

``We will raise the money we need to get our message out,'' said Republican Representative :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Christopher Shays of Connecticut, who had $797,413 in the bank compared with $800,248 for Hines. ``But we keep reminding ourselves that the most important thing is to do a good job.''

Spending More

The Democrats are using their superior financial resources to try to expand their majority by capturing more seats held by Republicans. The DCCC spent $350,181 in the week leading up to the March 8 special election in Illinois, where Democrat Bill Foster won the House seat vacated by retiring Republican :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Dennis Hastert, the former speaker. The Republican committee spent $292,181.

Republicans ``simply cannot afford to defend the districts of vulnerable incumbent Republicans and nearly 30 open Republican seats,'' DCCC spokeswoman :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Jennifer Crider said in a statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: :S:d1" T_DELAY="50" T_WIDTH="110" T_BGCOLOR="#ddedd9" T_FONTFACE="Verdana,sans-serif" T_FONTCOLOR="#000000" T_STATIC="true" T_ABOVE="true">Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net.