Democrats boast more money for state races The party's legislative candidates in Burlington and 3 other counties have raised $4 million, twice as much as their Republican rivals.

Democrats are raising far more money than Republicans in a handful of highly competitive local legislative races in New Jersey, according to campaign reports released yesterday.

Since the beginning of the campaign season, legislative candidates around the state have raised $27.8 million and spent $14 million. In 2003, the last time all 120 seats were up, they raised $48 million and spent $40.4 million in the same period.

Democratic legislative candidates in Burlington, Atlantic, Cape May and Monmouth Counties have raised a combined $4 million, while Republicans have raised $2 million.

Both sides are paying for slick mailers and newspaper and cable television ads, as well as pollsters and strategists. So far, only Democrats in Burlington, Atlantic, Cape May and Monmouth Counties have put up broadcast television ads, which burn through campaign cash at a rate of about $250,000 to $300,000 a week in the Philadelphia market.

For candidates on tickets headed by Democratic Assemblymen James Whelan of Atlantic County, Jeff Van Drew of Cape May County, and Fran Bodine of Burlington County, as well as State Sen. Ellen Karcher of Monmouth County, to stay on the air, they will need more money flowing into the campaigns. The largest sources of that money - likely party, business and ideological political committees - will be disclosed in the coming weeks.

It is unknown whether their Republican opponents on tickets headed by GOP State Sens. James "Sonny" McCullough of Atlantic Countym and Nicholas Asselta of Cumberland County, and Assemblywoman Jennifer Beck of Monmouth County will buy broadcast television time.

The biggest fund-raiser so far is Monmouth's Karcher, the Democrat who is locked in a tough fight with Republican Beck, who reported almost $1 million in her Senate account. She has been running broadcast television ads since mid-September.

Karcher and her running mates together have raised $1.6 million, compared with the $300,000 raised by Beck and her running mates. Karcher won that Senate seat from former GOP co-Senate President John Bennett in 2003 and is fighting to keep it.