While the National Republican Congressional Committee hasn't seen much good news lately, chairman Tom Cole finally has something to brag about: Nearly a year and a half after the 2006 elections, the committee has finally paid off its debt, Cole told members in a letter yesterday, Politico's Patrick O'Connor reports.

The party still faces a mountain to climb, especially given Democrats' huge head start in the fundraising department, but getting into the black for good after incurring a $19 million debt is a first step.

Cole used the letter to again solicit members for donations from their campaign accounts, another area of fundraising where Republicans have lagged behind their Democratic counterparts. This month, the NRCC will likely outraise the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee thanks to a benefit dinner hosted by President Bush that raised somewhere around $8.6 million.

At the end of last month, the NRCC reported $1.9 million in remaining debt, with about $5.1 million cash on hand. That trailed far behind the DCCC, which reported $38 million in the bank with just $762,000 owed to outside vendors. Even assuming the party did not spend a penny beyond paying off the debt, Republicans will still trail Democrats by at least a three-to-one margin after this month, though the gap is likely to be wider when the committees report their March fundraising totals on April 20.

Republicans on Capitol Hill have been grousing that Cole's fundraising abilities were insufficient, and public spats with Minority Leader John Boehner nearly led to Cole's exit earlier this cycle. Cole has said he is unsure if he will seek a second term as NRCC chair, as has been custom in recent years. Democratic strategist Paul Begala, meanwhile, sent out a fundraising email (apparently from his BlackBerry) before last night's midnight deadline suggesting the DCCC will report about $5 million raised this month.