elections every two years, not counting "specials" and "off year" locals. It's a shit load of work.
Here's a SEP 2005 cite to put you in the ballpark--it's likely gone up from these figures, but everyone wants a cite, so I'll oblige:
Like the DNC, the RNC spent more than it took in during the month of September. The committee raised $6 million and spent $6.9 million.
A large chunk of the spending went to telemarketing and direct mail -- two key components in the never-ending search for new donors. The largest expenditure within the category was $670,000 to Washington, D.C.-based Feather Larson & Synhorst - DCI; $400,000 went to telemarketing, $270,000 for "website conversion."
The RNC also maintains a staff numbering well over 200. Like DNC Chairman Howard Dean, RNC head Ken Mehlman pays himself a salary -- $11,154 a month. That computes to a yearly salary of approximately $134,000 -- $29,000 more than Dean is paying himself......More than 200 people are listed on the DNC's report as salaried staff, including Chairman Howard Dean, who received two payments of $4,392 during the month. If that's his salary, it would amount to roughly $105,000 a year. The large number of staffers on payroll is part of Dean's "50 state strategy" to place four organizers in every state in the country. The committee had done so in 38 states as of last week.
... http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2005/11/a_look_at_the_parties_sept_spe.htmlNice work if you can get it.