The House campaign arms for both parties released their fundraising totals for the first three months of 2005, with some good news on each side.

Not surprisingly, the National Republican Congressional Committee led the way with $19 million raised from Jan. 1 to March 31 — $6.6 million more than the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took in during that time.

The NRCC also had a significant cash-on-hand edge, with $8.5 million in the bank compared to $2.6 million for its Democratic counterpart.

“We are in great shape and have a big financial advantage,” said NRCC Communications Director Carl Forti. “We are accumulating cash to use in the election, and the DCCC continues to be hampered by significant debt.”

The DCCC did, however, lower its debt from $11.2 million at the start of the year to $4.4 million at the month’s end. The NRCC did not carry any debt.

In March, the DCCC actually outraised the NRCC — albeit it by just $600,000. The $12.4 million was the most the Democratic committee has ever raised in the first three months of an election cycle.

“We were able to raise such an impressive amount because Americans know the difference between Republicans who fight for the special interests and Democrats who fight for the interests of middle-class families,” DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) said in a news release.

— Chris Cillizza