Senate Republicans have just 40 seats and almost no chance of winning a majority in the 2010 elections, but their political organization is very competitive with the Democrats’ counterpart.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) reported raising $4.5 million in May and $17.2 million for the year, according to a report it filed with the Senate Office of Public Records. That single-month take gave the NRSC the edge in year-to-date receipts over its partisan counterpart, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which raised $3.4 million last month and $17 million for the year.

The NRSC’s May advantage did come with a caveat: it received a $1 million transfer last month from the Republican National Committee. Excluding that seven-figure donation, the NRSC and DSCC were about even in June receipts.

Still, the NRSC has raised much more this cycle than it did over a comparable period two year ago: its 2009 year-to-date receipts are up nearly 40 percent over its receipts in the first five months of 2007. The DSCC’s fundraising is down 25 percent, from $22.7 in 2007 to $17 million this year.

The DSCC is carrying more cash-on-hand than the NRSC, $4 million to $3.7 million. The DSCC has $4.2 million in debts, while the NRSC is debt-free.

Both Senate party organizations reported raising and spending money related to a still-vacant Senate seat in Minnesota, where the state Supreme Court is weighing a challenge by Republican former Sen. Norm Coleman of his apparent narrow loss last November to Democratic challenger Al Franken.

The DSCC raised $282,000 last month in Minnesota-related expenses. This included $15,000 from the leadership PAC of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and contributions from numerous figures in the entertainment industry: entertainer Barbra Streisand ($1,000); singer Don Henley ($5,000) and composer Burt Bacharach ($1,000); Ron Meyer, the chairman and chief executive officer of Universal Studios ($1,000); and actor Eddie Izzard ($1,000).

The NRSC raised $249,000 in recount-related contributions. Among those donors who gave the legal maximum of $30,400 were Nevada casino executive Sheldon Adelson and Texas homebuilder Bob Perry.

The NRSC spent $938,000 last month to assist Coleman with the recount. It shelled out more than $600,000 in “legal consulting” expenses, mostly to the Minnesota firm Dorsey and Whitney ($350,000) or the Washington, D.C., firm Patton Boggs ($247,000). The NRSC also gave $300,000 to the Minnesota Republican Party.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

• Receipts, May 2009: $3.4 million

• Receipts, Campaign cycle-to-date: $17 million

• Disbursements, May 2009: $2 million