To get more Republicans elected to the Rhode Island General Assembly and to federal offices, state GOP Chairman Giovanni Cicione promised to “spend every penny” of the party’s campaign war chest, which the GOP nearly did in the first quarter of this year.

Six months before the November election, the GOP continues to invest most of its money — more than $32,000 the first quarter –– on paid staff and fundraising costs, leaving the Republican State Central Committee with $2,052 in the bank on March 31, according to campaign-finance reports.

The GOP began the year with $12,671 on hand and reported about $37,000 in receipts in the first quarter, including $10,365 from an apparent bookkeeping error dating to 2006. Party spokeswoman Donna Perry said early last week that the Republican Party’s treasurer, Marc Tondreau, was preparing amended campaign-finance reports to correct the mistake.

“It’s just a correction on paper, not cash in hand,” Cicione said. “Nobody has told me I have another $10,000 to spend.”

The party reported contributions from individuals totaling about $23,000 in the first quarter.

The state GOP spent more than $47,000 from Jan. 1 to March 31. In addition to its staff and fundraising costs, the party spent its money on office expenses, consulting fees, and small amounts on travel and advertising.

Cicione said the state party was on target to raise enough money to meet its budget for the election year. The GOP invested heavily last year on prospecting for new donors to expand its fundraising base, which is an expensive undertaking, he said.

“We’re going to shift gears now to investing in candidates and campaigns,” Cicione said.

Cicione seems to have prevailed in an intra-party dispute over maintaining paid staff members. In March, the head of the state GOP chairman’s caucus, Dave Cote, urged the party to replace its two paid staff members with volunteers. But Cote last week did not renew his call to dismiss the staff. Cicione “is the elected chairman,” Cote said. “I have to defer to him. I did the best I could to make a recommendation.”

By comparison, the Democratic State Committee had a quiet first quarter in 2008, reporting $350 in receipts and spending $17,557. Just over $7,000 went to pay staff and payroll taxes.

The organization began the year with a roughly 10-to-1 financial advantage over its Republican counterpart, and retains a huge lead in money. Democrats began 2008 with $102,368. The party ended the first quarter with a balance of $85,061, and with $6,653 in remaining liabilities.

“We’re in solid financial shape right now,” said state Chairman William Lynch.

The Democratic State Committee has no fundraisers scheduled this spring, he said, in keeping with Lynch’s philosophy that the state party should avoid competing with candidates for donor dollars. General Assembly candidates are busy now raising money for their fall campaigns. “When we get to the fall, we’ll make a decision on what we need to do,” he said.

marsenau@projo.com