TRENTON — While Gov. Chris Christie is traveling the nation to support Republican candidates, his presence in the Statehouse is also helping his party at home, according to the latest fundraising reports released today. An Election Law Enforcement Commission report on the "big six" fundraising committees — those controlled by the Republican and Democratic parties, and each party's political...
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N.J. Gov. Chris Christie in this October 2010 file photo.TRENTON — While Gov. Chris Christie is traveling the nation to support Republican candidates, his presence in the Statehouse is also helping his party at home, according to the latest fundraising reports released today.
An Election Law Enforcement Commission report on the "big six" fundraising committees — those controlled by the Republican and Democratic parties, and each party's political leaders in the Senate and Assembly — shows Republicans outraised Democrats $834,300 to $623,487 in the quarter that ended Sept. 30 .
It's the first time Republicans have won a fundraising battle in about a decade.
Democrats hold control of both houses of the state Legislature, but Christie broke an eight-year Democratic lock on the governor's office when he was elected last year. For the first nine months of 2010, Democrats had outraised Republicans $1.7 million to $1.5 million. But at this time last year, when the money was flying much faster because of the races for governor and Assembly, the Democratic committees had raised $6.3 million — more than triple the Republican total.
ELEC officials said the shift in fundraising usually follows a change in power at the Statehouse. ELEC records show the last time the Republican committees had raised more than Democrats was in the fourth quarter of 2000, when the GOP held control of the governor's office and both houses of the state Legislature.
Jeff Brindle, the commission's executive director, said with special elections for legislative seats in just three districts on the ballot this year, "fundraising is proceeding at a more relaxed pace."
That will change soon as both parties gear up for next year's fight for the Legislature. All 120 seats in the Senate and Assembly will be up for grabs. All four fundraising committees run by legislative leaders have slated fundraisers for this month.
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• Democrats still lead N.J. fundraising, but Republicans are closing the gap
