Parties raise $1.6B in '08 election cycle

WASHINGTON, May 29 (UPI) -- The Democratic and Republican parties raised nearly $1.6 billion and spent more than $1.5 billion in the 2008 election cycle, the U.S. election watchdog said.

During the Jan. 1, 2007-Dec. 31, 2008, period, Republican national state and local party committees reporting to the Federal Election Commission took in $792.9 million in so-called hard money, federally permissible funds, the FEC said Friday in a news release. Their Democratic counterparts raised $763.3 million in hard money during the same period.

Democratic party receipts for the 2008 election cycle represent a 58 percent increase over the 2006 cycle and a 10.8 percent increase over the 2004 presidential election cycle, the FEC said. Republican party receipts rose 32.4 percent from 2006, and 1.3 percent from 2004.

Democratic party committees reported making a total of $156.2 million in independent expenditures for the election or defeat of House, Senate and presidential candidates but were not coordinated with the particular campaigns, the commission said. Republican party committees reported making $196.6 million in independent expenditures.