National Republican campaign committees have suffered multimillion-dollar drops in receipts and spending compared to the last non-presidential election campaign, a federal agency said Wednesday. The GOP committees still have spent far more this time around than their Democratic counterparts, which did not experience a decline in campaign fund-rasising, the Federal Election Commission said. As of Oct. 17, the FEC said, the Republican national, senatorial and congressional committees had received $30 million less and spent $26 million less than in the same period during the 1985-86 cycle. At the same time, the level of financial activity at the Democratic committees remained on a par with the previous off-year campaign cycle. Republican Party strategists have said GOP fund-raising efforts were hurt by President Bush's change of heart on taxes. Bush abandoned his no-new-taxes campaign pledge this fall and agreed to a package of spending cuts and new taxes to help reduce the federal deficit. Nevertheless, the GOP managed to outspend the Democrats this year by more than $118 million, according to the FEC. The three GOP committees raised and spent $159 million from Jan. 1, 1989, to Oct. 17, 1990. The three Democratic committees raised $37 million and spent $40 million in the same period. The Republicans contributed nearly twice as much as the Democrats directly to candidates - $1.8 million compared to just over $900,000, the FEC said. Coordinated expenditures, or indirect aid to candidates, came to $7.4 million for the GOP and $5.8 million for the Democrats. The GOP also has transferred much more money to state party committees than the Democrats - $3.7 million compared to $1.6 million. In addition, the national Republican Party operates two joint fund-raising committees that have distributed $1.9 million to 49 Senate candidates, the FEC said. Democrats have filed a complaint alleging that the committees - the Republican Senatorial Inner Circle 1990 and 1990-91 - are illegally circumventing campaign spending limits.
