The numbers are in and -- gasp -- for just about the first time this cycle the Republican committees have begun to start catching up with their Democratic rivals. Take a look:

At this point, when debts and obligations are taken into account (because that does matter), the Democratic committees hold roughly a $24.7 million lead over their GOP counterparts. That amounts to an advantage of 63.3 percent -- lower than the figure in the 90s or above seen earlier this cycle, but nonetheless a daunting figure. The Republican committees were able to climb back by over $5 million in January, largely on the shoulders of the Republican National Committee, which is enjoying the largesse of GOP donors who are unimpressed by their presidential candidates but nonetheless want to contribute to their cause.

It's also worth adding this: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton raised roughly $50 million combined in January, compared to the under $16 million brought in by John McCain and Mike Huckabee combined last month. When you tack those figures on to the numbers for the committees above, you get the sense that the Democrats are not in fact slipping relative to the Republicans in terms of fundraising but, rather, Democratic money is just shifting (presumably and hopefully in a temporary manner) from the committees to the candidates.