The National Republican Senatorial Committee outraised its Democratic counterpart for the third month in a row in December, bringing in $4.1 million compared with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s $3.4 million.Despite losing the fourth-quarter cash race, the DSCC still raised more money over the course of 2009 and ended the year with more money in the bank. The Democratic committee brought in about $43.6 million for the year and had $12.5 million in the bank as of Dec. 31, with about $1.2 million in debt. The NRSC brought in $41.2 million on the year had $8.3 million in cash on hand at the end of last month, with no debt.The Senate Republicans’ political arm spent $3.1 million in December while the Democratic committee spent $2.6 million, according to monthly fundraising reports set to be filed with the Federal Election Commission by Jan. 31.The NRSC will certainly celebrate the fact that it brought in $10 million more during the first year of the 2010 cycle than it did during the first year of the 2008 cycle. The committee raised $31.8 million during 2007. But the NRSC also had more money in the bank at this point last cycle. The committee reported $12 million in cash on hand as of Dec. 31, 2007.“Earlier this week, Massachusetts voters sent a clear message to the nation in favor of fiscal responsibility and checks-and-balances in Washington,— NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) said in a statement. “It has never been more important for our leaders in Washington to restore accountability and re-gain the trust of voters, and the NRSC has been fortunate over the last year as this message has clearly energized our fundraising and recruiting efforts.—The Democratic committee is well off its pace from the first year of the 2008 cycle, when it brought in $55.4 million total in 2007.DSCC Executive Director J.B. Poersch said that despite the country’s economic problems, Democrats are “united and pro-active— heading into 2010.“Rest assured that the DSCC will be quick and aggressive in drawing distinctions between the two parties and will work tirelessly in the months ahead to raise the funds necessary to maintain and expand our Democratic majority in the Senate,— Poersch said in a news release.The Republican National Committee announced this Friday that it raised $6.6 million in December. The committee ended 2009 with $8.4 million in the bank and no debt. During last year, the RNC raised $81.3 million.The Democratic National Committee has not yet released its year-end fundraising numbers.