By Bart Jansen, CQ Staff

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the campaign arm of the Senate GOP, is creating a new fundraising system as it prepares for the next round of elections in 2010.

The goal of the plan — unveiled by Texas Sen. John Cornyn , the new NRSC chairman, at a press conference Wednesday — is to match the recent fundraising strength exhibited by the Democrats, without overly relying on contributions from current Republican incumbents.

The NRSC’s $91 million in spending during the 2008 election cycle was eclipsed by the $156 million laid out by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which enjoyed a gain of seven or eight seats, depending on the final outcome in the disputed Minnesota race in which Democrat Al Franken currently holds a tiny lead over Republican incumbent Norm Coleman. The Democrats, who entered the 2008 elections with a razor-thin majority of 51 seats — including two independents who caucus with the party — will end up with 58 or 59, depending on how Minnesota shakes out.

“Democrats pretty much handed us our heads in the last cycle,” said Cornyn, who added he was “shocked” at the spending in North Carolina, where Democrat Kay Hagan unseated one-term Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole, and Mississippi, where appointed Republican Sen. Roger Wicker staved off a stiff challenge by Democratic former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove in a special election.

But Cornyn said he didn’t plan on hitting up Senate colleagues, who resisted fundraising demands from his predecessor, John Ensign of Nevada. Ensign publicly criticized colleagues in August for not contributing enough to the NRSC, at a time when incumbents who weren’t up for election that year were reserving a combined total of $47 million in their campaign treasuries.

“I’ve always wondered about the basic health of a political party that lives off of contributions from its candidates,” Cornyn said. “It ought to be the job of the party structure to help those candidates raise money, not sort of cannibalize their efforts.”

Cornyn compared the new fundraising system, which he said was still being developed, to his own victorious campaign for a second term in Texas, in which he overcame the national Democratic tide to handily defeat Democrat Rick Noriega. Cornyn noted that he had a state finance director, regional directors and local directors — and each set goals for raising money.

“I’m optimistic that that will give us the opportunity to increase our fundraising prowess significantly,” he said.

Cornyn said Republicans will have chances to capture Democratic seats, singling out those that will be held by relative newcomers appointed to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in Illinois, Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. in Delaware, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Interior Secretary-designate Ken Salazar in Colorado.

“We have a number of opportunities that have been created and we’ll take advantage of those,” Cornyn said.

But his counterpart, recently installed DSCC Chairman Robert Menendez of New Jersey, said Democrats would raise enough money for their races and field “excellent” candidates.

“I’d love for the NRSC to be spending their time in New York,” Menendez said, referring to the November 2010 special election to fill the final two years of Clinton’s unexpired term in a state that typically is a Democratic stronghold. “If he thinks there’s actually an opportunity, well, bring it on.”