After the early backing of Arlen Specter and Charlie Crist, the National Republican Senatorial Committee caught a great deal of well-earned grief this cycle.

But they’re also starting to catch fire.

Below are the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) July 2010 fundraising numbers, which were filed with the FEC this month.
Receipts for July – $4.16 million
Receipts Cycle-to-Date – $72.5 million
Disbursements – $2.6 million
Cash-On-Hand – $21.1 million
Debt – $0
In reporting on these developments, please consider the following statement from NRSC Executive Director Rob Jesmer:
“The NRSC is well-positioned to help ensure that our candidates have the resources to win in November. Republicans are now on offense in at least 12 Democrat-held Senate seats and the wind is at our backs moving towards November as more Americans stand up and demand checks-and-balances in Washington.” – Rob Jesmer, NRSC Executive Director

Looking at the list of potentially competitive races, we see:

GOP needs to protect incumbents in: Louisiana, North Carolina.

GOP needs to protect seats held by retiring Republicans in: Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio.

GOP is trying to win seats held by retiring Democrats in: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, North Dakota, West Virginia. *

GOP is trying to knock off Democrat incumbents in: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Wisconsin.

I count 19; Jim Pethokoukis says he’s hearing about potentially 20 seats in play this year.

Hmm. In Oregon, Democrat incumbent Ron Wyden appears to be ahead by healthy margins, but is at 47, 45, 51, and 53 percent in the last four polls. Not exactly stunning numbers for a two-term incumbent who won with 64 percent last time.

* UPDATE: Or, you know, it could just be that I forgot Pennsylvania.