Bush headlines $27 million Republican fund-raiser

ASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) At a gala dinner Republicans raised a whopping 27 million dollar for candidates in the November midterm election in a bid to fend off a strong challenge by Democrats for control of the U S Congress.

President George W Bush was the headliner at the 2006 President's Dinner gala, typically one of the biggest fund-raising events of the election cycle.

''We're going to keep the House and we're going to keep the Senate thanks to you all,'' Bush told a crowd of about 6,000 people at the Washington convention center yesterday.

The 27 million dollar included 15 million dollar for candidates for the House of Representatives and 12 million dollar for Senate candidates.

Bush acknowledged it was an ''incredibly successful dinner.'' On May 17, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman said that night's RNC gala was expected to raise million, which he said would be a record for a non-presidential election year.

Republicans said Bush, his wife, Laura, Vice President Dick Cheney and other administration officials had raised a total of 173.7 million dollar for the party this year, on track to break the 242.7 million dollar brought in for the 2001-02 cycle.

Republicans control both chambers of Congress but many are nervous about the party's chances in November because of the unpopularity of the Iraq war and other issues.

Bush's job approval ratings hit rock bottom a couple of months ago but have risen slightly in recent weeks on the basis of a run of good news, such as the U S military's killing this month of Abu Musab al-Zarqaqi, the al Qaeda leader in Iraq.

The White House is stressing Bush remains in demand among the party faithful in the 2005-06 election cycle. yesterday's political event was his 40th, compared to 38 at this point in the 2001-2002 mid-term election cycle.

Republicans say the higher numbers reflect the number of competitive races this year.

Democrats accused Bush of putting money ahead of the needs of the American people, ''President Bush's big money fundraiser tonight proves once again that he puts the needs of his special interest corporate friends ahead of the priorities of the American people,'' said Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Karen Finney.

REUTERS PDS BST0752