During a similar time frame in 2005, Republicans raised 62 million dollars through their national and congressional committees, and Democrats about 32 million dollars. At the end of the first quarter of 2003, the Republican advantage was bigger: 54million dollars to the Democrats' 19 million dollars.

The Democrats' fundraising gains were most evident at congressional level. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) raised 13.7 million dollars to the National Republican Senatorial Committee's 7 million dollars. The DSCC also ended March with nearly triple the money in the bank -- 9.5 million dollars to 3.45 million dollars.

The House picture was not much better for Republicans. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee collected 19 million dollars between January and March and had 9.8 million dollars in the bank. The National Republican Congressional Committee raised 15.8 million dollars in the quarter and had 2.5 million dollars to spend.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) was the lone saving grace for Republicans' financial hopes, raising 24.6 million dollars in the period -- nearly 10 million dollars more than the DNC. The RNC closed March with 12.8 million dollars, against the DNC's 6.9 million dollars.

In the presidential race, leading Democrat candidates also enjoyed a money advantage over their Republican rivals.

From January to March this year, Democrat Senators Hillary Clinton, of New York, and Barack Obama, of Illinois, raised 26 million dollars and 25.7 million dollars respectively for their presidential campaigns. The only Republican candidate who raised more than 20 million dollars during the three-month period was Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, who raised 20.7 million dollars.