Democratic Party to pour $50 million into fall races

WASHINGTON -- The Democratic National Committee says it will spend more than $50 million in cash and other resources on the November elections, as the party struggles to limit expected losses in congressional races and possibly gubernatorial contests too.

The planned expenditure, worked out by top White House and congressional Democrats, would mark a significant investment in a non-presidential election.

Democratic officials confirmed the plans, first reported by Politico, but said they had yet to decide how much of the contribution would be in cash versus noncash resources, such as campaign workers. Candidates cherish cash because it allows them to pay for polls and TV or radio ads.

At the end of February, the DNC had $10.7 million in cash and $3.7 million in debts.

A Democratic official said much of the effort will be based on direct field support from staff and volunteers that Organizing for America has in the states. Organizing for America, an arm of the DNC, evolved from President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign.

The official would speak only on background because the DNC has not formally announced the spending plans.

The meeting of White House and party officials occurred Thursday night, while Obama was raising about $2.5 million for the DNC at two Miami events.

At one of the fundraisers, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine delivered a sobering assessment of the party's chances in November, noting that the party in power traditionally sustains losses in the midterm elections.

"There are a lot of prognosticators who are saying this is going to be a very tough year for the Democrats," Kaine said.

"We sort of have to assume that we're running into a headwind," Kaine said, but he contended Democrats were accustomed to being underdogs.

The Democratic Party, like the GOP, has campaign committees that work only on House, Senate and gubernatorial races. These committees do much of the fundraising, spending and candidate recruitment.