Bush headlines Republican fund-raiser

By Chris Baltimore

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – At a gala dinner on Monday,
Republicans raised a whopping $27 million for candidates in the
November midterm election in a bid to fend off a strong
challenge by Democrats for control of the U.S. Congress.

President George W. Bush was the headliner at the 2006
President’s Dinner gala, typically one of the biggest
fund-raising events of the election cycle.

“We’re going to keep the House and we’re going to keep the
Senate thanks to you all,” Bush told a crowd of about 6,000
people at the Washington convention center.

The $27 million included $15 million for candidates for the
House of Representatives and $12 million for Senate candidates.
Bush acknowledged it was an “incredibly successful dinner.”

On May 17, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken
Mehlman said that night’s RNC gala was expected to raise $17
million, which he said would be a record for a non-presidential
election year.

Republicans said Bush, his wife, Laura, Vice President Dick
Cheney and other administration officials had raised a total of
$173.7 million for the party this year, on track to break the
$242.7 million brought in for the 2001-02 cycle.

Republicans control both chambers of Congress but many are
nervous about the party’s chances in November because of the
unpopularity of the Iraq war and other issues.

Bush’s job approval ratings hit rock bottom a couple of
months ago but have risen slightly in recent weeks on the basis
of a run of good news, such as the U.S. military’s killing this
month of Abu Musab al-Zarqaqi, the al Qaeda leader in Iraq.

The White House is stressing Bush remains in demand among
the party faithful in the 2005-06 election cycle. Monday’s
political event was his 40th, compared to 38 at this point in
the 2001-2002 mid-term election cycle.

Republicans say the higher numbers reflect the number of
competitive races this year.

Democrats accused Bush of putting money ahead of the needs
of the American people,

“President Bush’s big money fundraiser tonight proves once
again that he puts the needs of his special interest corporate
friends ahead of the priorities of the American people,” said
Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland)