It's been a decade since the Republicans outraised the Democrats in the small donor category - generally considered to include donations of $200 or less. But with the help of tea partiers and ordinary Americans fed up with the Democrats, the GOP has surpassed the Democrat's totals in both numbers and amounts raised.

T.W. Faranam in the Washington Post:

Unlike individual candidates, the Republican National Committee and other party committees have used mail solicitations to consistently bring in more money from small donors than their Democratic counterparts. The RNC's reliance on small donors has increased this cycle, with many large donors choosing not to give to party headquarters after controversies over its leadership.

In Florida, retired Army Lt. Col. Allen B. West has pulled in almost $1 million in small checks after attracting national attention for his conservative positions -- much of it after a video of one of his speeches was widely viewed on the Internet. That's almost twice as much money as West was able raise against incumbent Rep. Ron Klein in his first attempt at the seat in the 2008 election.

The surge in small donations also helped Republican Scott Brown in January in his victory in a Massachusetts senatorial special election, which spurred GOP momentum heading into the campaign year. Brown raised $8.3 million in small contributions, representing more than half of his total.

The article points out that this is not always good news for the Republican establishment as a lot of that money is going to candidates who have sought to distance themselves from Washington.

Regardless, the small donations are an important indicator that the GOP is making inroads back into the middle class which can only spell more trouble for the Democrats.

Hat Tip: Ed Lasky