RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen let top party officials know in an email on Thursday that the party had raised $9.7 million for the second-to-last full month of the 2010 election cycle — $3.8 million short of the $13.5 million the RNC had budgeted for that month.

The September woes comes after another shortfall in August, when the RNC raised $7.7 million for the month — $1.7 million short of the $9.4 million that had been projected.

The $5.5 million cumulative shortfall over the two months led Pullen to welcome the additional $5 million line of credit the RNC’s executive committee voted to extend during a conference call this week.