It's been a heady week for Republicans exulting in positive poll numbers and the announced retirements of two senior Senate Democrats. But a pesky problem is putting a damper on Republican New Year's cheer: money.

The national GOP party committees continue to trail their Democratic counterparts, in receipts and/or in cash on hand. The grassroots "tea party" movement, which has channeled public anger over the economy and Democratic health care plans, has failed to translate into campaign dollars, and intraparty primary fights may drain GOP coffers for the general election.

Party donations from both incumbent GOP lawmakers and individual donors are sharply down. Profligate spending at the Republican National Committee has prompted grumbling in the GOP rank and file, and fueled simmering complaints over the RNC's sometimes-controversial chairman, Michael Steele.

The internal GOP struggle over conservative credentials and so-called purity tests could prove costly, not just politically but in hard dollars.

Republicans wedded to direct mail, moreover, may face systemic challenges raising money from small donors over the Internet -- something Democrats have exploited to their advantage.

"I've been amazed that the Republicans have done as poorly as they have," said political analyst Larry Sabato, who directs the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "They have not capitalized on the fact that the Democrats and President Obama have had some problems."

The conservative uprising that's fueled explosive town hall meetings and demonstrations has not helped the GOP raise money, Republicans acknowledge, in part because the tea party activists reject what they perceive as the more-moderate national party establishment.

"It doesn't seem that the anger you're seeing nationally and in the polling is resulting in more dollars," said Carl Forti, a campaign and media strategist with the Black Rock Group, who previously held senior posts at the National Republican Congressional Committee and with Mitt Romney's presidential bid.

Forti added: "Some of the people in that tea party movement are frustrated with the party. They want to see a more conservative party and more conservative candidates supported."

GOP money troubles are most noticeable at the NRCC, which had netted $32.9 million and had $4.3 million cash on hand at the end of November, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That's compared with $51.8 million in receipts at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which with $15 million in the bank had more than three times as much cash on hand.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee is inching up on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. But NRSC receipts still trail DSCC receipts as of Nov. 30, by $37.1 million to $40.2 million.

There are some bright spots on the GOP balance sheets. The Republican National Committee outraised the Democratic National Committee in the first 11 months of last year. The RNC netted $84.4 million through Nov. 30, compared with $79.3 million for the DNC, CRP data show. On the eve of the 2008 election, the RNC was also the only GOP national party committee that had outraised its Democratic counterpart.

Numerous individual GOP candidates are also raising money at an impressive clip. One example is GOP Senate hopeful Rob Portman in Ohio, who's raised twice as much as the two leading Democrats in the race combined. Portman had collected $6.2 million as of the most recent reporting period, according to CRP, swamping Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher's $2.6 million and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's $582,897.

"The candidates are doing better than the party," noted Sabato. "That could be their saving grace. I don't think that many Republicans are expecting to be saved by the Republican party apparatus."

Still, the internal GOP struggle over conservative credentials and so-called purity tests could prove costly, not just politically but in hard dollars. When they do spend money, right-leaning activists tend to rally behind conservative primary candidates who challenge the national GOP's pick.

Witness conservative Marco Rubio's aggressive challenge to Gov. Charlie Crist, the GOP establishment candidate, in Florida's Senate primary. The more costly the primary, of course, the less the national party has left to spend on the general election.

Already big RNC spending in 2009 has raised eyebrows. The RNC spent more than $90 million last year, considerably more than the $71.6 million spent by the DNC.

That leaves the RNC with just $8.7 million cash on hand, compared with just over $13 million in DNC cash. Controversial RNC expenditures, which have boosted some winning candidates but have also included high salaries, substantial direct mail and telemarketing -- and an office renovation for Steele -- have reportedly prompted some big donors to stop writing checks.

"The level of spending is outrageous," complained one GOP strategist who asked not to be named.

Direct-mail fundraising, which historically helped Republicans fuel small donations and consistently outraise Democrats, is costly and may not reach the next generation of donors. On the eve of the 2008 election, Democratic committees had largely reversed their longtime money disadvantage, in part by capitalizing on the small-donor Internet revolution.

GOP party committees are testing new strategies, but building a new fundraising infrastructure takes time. In the meantime, Election Day is less than 11 months away, and Republicans face a fundamental math problem: too many candidates, and not enough money to support them.

Want to stay ahead of the curve? Sign up for National Journal’s AM & PM Must Reads. News and analysis to ensure you don’t miss a thing.