RNC reported more money in the bank than the DNC

Once teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and irrelevance, the Republican National Committee has raised more than $110 million over the past 15 months and retired more than half its debt, accumulating large cash reserves that could give Mitt Romney a critical boost later this spring as he intensifies his campaign against President Obama.

With the divisive and drawn-out Republican primary season moving toward a close, the committee reported more money in the bank at the start of last month than the Democratic National Committee, which raised about $137 million during the same period but also spent far more.

Party officials said the Republican committee would report more than $30 million in cash on hand in filings due with the Federal Election Commission this month, including a $22 million “presidential trust” that would be available to Mr. Romney should he become the party’s nominee.

The committee’s unexpected turnaround is a case study in how Republicans are chipping away at Mr. Obama’s advantage in traditional fund-raising — and of the rapid evolution of old-fashioned party institutions in the post-Citizens United landscape of “super PACs” and the unlimited money they can raise and spend. 

One role that the committee has filled in the past when the party was out of power — pounding the president with early television advertising — has been taken up by outside groups like American Crossroads, founded by Karl Rove. That has allowed the committee and its chairman, Reince Priebus, to focus on rebuilding the party’s network of large donors.  (Continues)