Democrats raise record funds in first three months of 2013

WASHINGTON, April 22 (UPI) — The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $5.2 million in March, $2 million more than its Republican counterpart, party officials say.

In the last three months, the DSCC raised $13.7 million, the party’s best quarter ever, Politico reported Monday.

That’s $9.6 million more than the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

For March, the GOP group raised $3.2 million, ending the quarter with $5.3 million in cash and $9.5 million in debt.

Guy Cecil, the DSCC’s executive director, said fundraising was “off to a very strong start.”

“The cash advantage for Democratic candidates enabled us to hold our own against Republican third-party spending in 2012,” he said. “With our high number of incumbents, their lack of candidates early in the cycle and the likelihood that they [Republicans] will have several divisive primaries, we expect that advantage to grow.”