Senate Republican leaders yesterday urged GOP senators to meet ambitious individual fundraising goals to help close the fundraising disparity with their Democratic counterparts.

Several lawmakers said the individual fundraising goals are significantly higher than they’ve been asked to meet in past election cycles. The request also underscores how nervous Republicans are less than nine months before the midterm elections.

Participants at yesterday’s meeting at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) said that rank-and-file senators had been asked to raise about $100,000 for the NRSC and that chairmen had been asked to raise about $150,000.

One Republican senator in attendance said, however, that members have been asked to meet different goals depending on their personal situations, such as their seniority, their committee assignments and what areas of the country they represent.

The vigorous push for greater fundraising participation among Republican senators is largely prompted by the fact that Senate Democrats have nearly $15 million more in the bank. Democratic leaders have been able to raise and save more money in large part because Democratic senators have contributed heavily from their own accounts to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).