Washington ? A surge in small, individual contributions is lifting Democratic campaigns this year and is helping close a Republican fundraising advantage that has existed for years in national politics, according to Federal Election Commission data.

Democratic House and Senate candidates and their two major campaign committees are enjoying stronger grass-roots support than at any time since the GOP took over both branches of Congress in the 1994 elections, according to strategists from both parties who have reviewed the most recent FEC data released this spring.

At the same time, Republican campaign committees are stumbling. The Republican National Committee is lagging behind its totals from two years ago, though it continues to have a financial lead over the Democratic National Committee.

On the House side, the National Republican Congressional Committee remains ahead of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. But the gap is smaller than in the past, and the trends are in the Democrats’ favor.

In six of the 10 open House races – in which incumbents are not running – that the two leading nonpartisan political handicappers regard as up for grabs this fall, Democratic candidates are out-raising their GOP opponents, according to data analyzed by the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute.

Some experts see these numbers as a potential harbinger of larger shifts in the political winds. “It’s seen as a very competitive election, and the Republicans are very concerned and the Democrats are optimistic,” said Trevor Potter, a former Republican-appointed FEC chairman. “Some money is shifting to what is seen as a possibility of a Democratic win. By and large, people don’t give to losers.”