In the wake of a victory in an Illinois special election, and in the run-up to two more special contests in early May, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee again outraised their Republican counterparts in April and widened the already outsized financial disparity between the two parties' House campaign arms.

The DCCC raised $5 million in April -- including $15,000 from Major League Baseball's political action committee -- and spent $4 million, leaving itself a hair under $45.3 million in the bank. The party still owes $700,000 to vendors. National Republican Congressional Committee coffers actually declined in April; the party brought in $4.25 million and spent $4.68 million, leaving just $6.7 million for later contests.

Those numbers don't reflect major spending by both parties in the few days of May leading up to special elections in Louisiana, on May 3, and Mississippi, on May 13. The NRCC spent about $800,000 through May on both specials, while the DCCC spent more than $1 million on both contests this month.

On the Senate side, the National Republican Senatorial Committee outraised Democrats for the first time this cycle, pulling in $4.3 million to the DSCC's just under $4.2 million in April. But Democrats still have a huge cash advantage, with $37.6 million in the bank compared with $19.4 million for Republicans. Democrats are already flexing their muscles, running advertisements in several states; the party spent $4.5 million in April, compared with $2.3 million expended by the NRSC. DSCC spokesman Matt Miller told Politics Nation the party "made investments in 16 states this month as we ramp up the field programs that delivered victories in close states last cycle."

Republicans' one bright spot comes at the national level, where donors are still forking over more money than they are to Democrats.The Democratic National Committee continues to trail the Republican National Committee in fundraising, too, having pulled in just $4.75 million in April and spending $5.6 million. Howard Dean's DNC has just $4.4 million left in the bank, though that number will likely grow in next month's report, after party officials announced joint fundraising agreements between itself and the two remaining presidential candidates.

Mike Duncan's RNC raised an impressive $19.8 million in April, leaving it with $40 million on hand. To put that number in perspective, that's $15 million more in the bank than the DNC has raised, total, during this cycle.

In total, the three top Democratic committees boast $87 million cash on hand, while Republicans have approximately $66.7 million left over.