With the republicans lagging behind the Democrats in fundraising, it took President George W. Bush to involve himself in the proceedings Tuesday night, to raise about $1 million for Senate Republicans.

The President spent about an hour at the National Republican Senatorial Committee fundraiser, held at the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum next to the capitol complex, for the aforesaid fundraising event.

In the Senate, 35 seats are being contested, of which 23 held by Bush’s Republicans, and 12 by Democrats. The cash-strapped Republicans are now scrambling to hold off a Democratic pitch in Congress - Democrats, who hold a 51-49 Senate majority have solid leads in several races and believe they are within reach of their goal of capturing 60 of the 100 Senate seats.

A total of 60 seats - three-fifths of the Senate – is the requirement for stopping a filibuster, or continual debate staged to avoid a vote on legislation. In fact, Republicans say Democrats would be in strong shape to deal with filibusters if they can move their total into the high 50s.

To reach to the ‘magical’ number, Democrats have targeted numerous GOP-held seats, and expect to pick up a half-a-dozen or more, with two weeks to go for the election. Two independent nominees who have caucus with them have solid leads in several races, and in most other tight contests, GOP incumbents are fighting for survival.

Other than the Democratic advantage in fund raising, Senate Republicans face quite a few additional challenges - an unpopular president, fears over the financial meltdown, and an increasingly unpopular party brand!