Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D) is hosting a “first annual” garden party fundraiser at her Upper East Side town house in New York on Monday, with ticket prices ranging from $500 to $4,600.

“Without your continued support, the Democrats will be in danger of losing the majority,” Maloney wrote in the invitation, which warned against “strong and hateful campaigns” being waged by Republican candidates.

First reported this week in The Daily Politics, the political blog of the New York Daily News, Maloney’s fundraiser has fueled speculation that the eight-term Congresswoman could be looking to stock up on campaign cash in case Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s (D) Senate seat becomes vacant after the 2008 election. Should Clinton be elected president, Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) gets to name her replacement, and several elected officials would probably angle for the appointment.

While Maloney’s Congressional seat is probably secure for as long as she wants it, a fatter campaign treasury will help her pay her dues at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. According to a DCCC document obtained by Roll Call, through June 18 Maloney had given the committee just $30,000 of the $250,000 she’s expected to contribute.

Maloney had $804,000 in her campaign account as of March 31.
— Josh Kurtz