By Emily Cadei, CQ Staff

Sen. John Kerry is putting up $1 million to help the Democratic Party win control of at least 60 Senate seats this fall.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who was the party’s 2004 presidential nominee, announced the donation to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee late Monday afternoon via an e-mail to supporters. Citing the current economic crisis as motivation for the contribution, which will come from his own Senate campaign committee, he said the Democrats would need a 60-vote majority to make a difference.

“We need the strongest Democratic majority possible to get the change we need in Washington. We need to make sure a handful of Republican senators can’t block President Obama as he tries to get our country back on track,” Kerry wrote.

He urged his supporters to follow his lead and chip in by giving directly to a roster of Senate Democratic candidates, including Al Franken in Minnesota, Kay Hagan in North Carolina, Tom Allen in Maine, and Mark Udall in Colorado.

The $1 million gift marks the largest contribution to the DSCC so far in this election cycle, and will give the party committee a needed influx of cash going into the campaign’s final stretch. It also rubs salt into the wounds of National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jon Ensign of Nevada, who has publicly criticized his GOP colleagues for not opening their wallets wide enough to keep pace with Democratic spending.

The DSCC has spent twice what its Republican counterpart has so far this election — $43.3 million to $21.1 million. But the committee was outraised by the Republican group in August and saw its cash-on-hand advantage drop due to aggressive campaign spending. Still, the DSCC ended the month with $33.7 million in the bank compared with $26.8 million for the NRSC.

“We are of course extremely grateful to Sen. Kerry and the commitment he’s made to electing more Democratic senators,” DSCC Communications Director Matt Miller said of the donation. He lauded Kerry not only for his “sizable contributions” — the senator had already given $24,000 from his campaign committee and $30,000 from his political action committee this cycle — but also for raising money directly for Senate candidates.

Kerry has been highly successful in leveraging the support he earned during his 2004 run for the presidency into an impressive fundraising operation. Since 2007 he has raised $15.7 million for his Senate campaign, despite the fact he does not face a competitive election.

All told, Kerry “has given or raised $1.7 million for the national and state parties this cycle,” said Whitney Smith, his press secretary.

His generosity, however, is not without precedent. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton , D-N.Y., gave $2 million to the DSCC in 2006, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy , D-Mass., donated $1 million to the committee that same election cycle.

On the House side, Majority Whip James E. Clyburn of South Carolina has given nearly $900,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this cycle. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, has given more than $800,000 to the National Republican Campaign Committee for the 2008 election.

The contributions from the Senate and House members are huge, compared with the limits placed on most political donations. But under federal election laws, members of Congress are allowed to transfer unlimited amounts of money from their own campaign committees to national party committees.

Greg Giroux contributed to this story.