The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee outraised its Republican counterpart by about $1.7 million in August and maintained a hefty cash-on-hand lead heading into the final two months of the cycle, according to the latest monthly fundraising reports.

The DCCC brought in just over $8.3 million last month compared with $6.6 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee. The fundraising victory for the DCCC broke a string of four consecutive months in which the Democratic committee had been outraised by the NRCC.

The DCCC showed about $39.1 million in the bank on Sept. 1 compared with the NRCC’s $25.6 million.

The NRCC’s August fundraising total is down from the $8.5 million the committee pulled in during July. The committee’s total that month was bolstered by a $1 million transfer from House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Conversely, the DCCC did better in August than it did in July, when it raised $6.2 million.

Both committees spent heavily in August on independent expenditures to fund television ads that began hitting airwaves across the country in late August and early September. The DCCC reported $5.1 million in expenditures during the month, while the NRCC spent $3.1 million.

Both committees are expected to dramatically accelerate their IE spending this month. Over the weekend, the NRCC reported spending $1.7 million to fund a series of ads in competitive districts.