April 12 (Bloomberg) -- The Republican Mainstreet Partnership, a group of lawmakers who often vote against bills backed by President George W. Bush, raised a record amount of money in the first quarter, helped by current and former executives of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Former Goldman Sachs senior partners John L. Weinberg, 78, and John C. Whitehead, 82, known as the ``two Johns,'' were among five donors who gave a combined $175,000 last quarter to a fund supporting the partnership's members, Internal Revenue Service disclosure forms show. Dinakar Singh, the current head of Goldman's private investing business, also gave.

The 64 congressmen belonging to the partnership, including Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, have bucked Republican leaders by voting with Democrats on their opposition to Bush's tax cuts and their support for spending more on the environment and health care. Republicans control the Senate with 51 of 100 votes and the House with 228 of 435 seats, which often can give the Mainstreet Partnership lawmakers a decisive bloc of votes.

``It's a real race for the heart and soul of the Republican party,'' said Stephen Moore, president of Club for Growth, a rival group seeking to defeat Specter because they say he votes too often with Democrats and has supported tax increases.

Nine senators and 55 members of the House belong to the partnership. Five governors also belong, including California's Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York's George Pataki. Mainstreet Partnership members generally support more federal aid for environmental and health-care programs than other Republicans and are committed to deficit reduction. The partnership is airing TV advertisements supporting lawmakers such as Specter.

Donations

Singh gave $100,000 to the group's Main Street Individual Fund and Weinberg contributed $25,000. Whitehead, now chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., gave $25,000, and James R. Houghton, chief executive of fiber-optic cable maker Corning Inc., donated $15,000. Robert W. Wilson of Brooklyn, New York, rounded out the quarter's donor list with $10,000.

``A lot more people are willing to write checks to help the moderates,'' Sarah Chamberlain Resnick, 33, the group's executive director, said in a telephone interview. ``This proves that moderates are not a dying breed.''

Weinberg and Whitehead served as co-chairman of Goldman Sachs in the 1980s until Whitehead's departure in 1985. Weinberg retired as senior chairman in May 1999.

Club for Growth

The Republican Mainstreet Partnership fund is ``the anti- Club for Growth,'' Resnick said.

The Club for Growth backs Republicans committed to less funding for social programs and lower taxes. Last month it said it had spent more than $800,000 in advertisements portraying Specter, 74, as supporting tax increases and often voting with Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, according to the group's Web site.

The Club for Growth has raised $4.8 million since January, 2003 compared to $448,600 for the Main Street Individual Fund, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, a nonpartisan group which tracks campaign finance disclosures.

Moore said he has heard little of the Mainstreet Partnership and considers the rival group a ``nonentity.'' Moore said he doubts it can match his organization.

The Club for Growth also has 15,000 members who donate directly to the campaign coffers of candidates supported by the club. For instance, individual members of the Club for Growth have donated about $1 million directly to Representative Patrick J. Toomey who is running against Specter for Senate, Moore said.

527 Groups

The Republican Mainstreet Partnership and Club for Growth raise unregulated money under a so-called 527 organizational structure that has been popular with Democrats and criticized by Republicans. The Republican National Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission last month calling 527 groups illegal.

Billionaire George Soros is the biggest donor to such groups, pledging more than $12 million to Democratic-leaning groups aiming to defeat Bush in the November election.

The Republican National Committee is targeting its complaint at groups seeking to influence the presidential election and isn't focusing on the activities of the Mainstreet Partnership or the Club for Growth, Resnick said.

Whitehead wasn't available to discuss this story, spokesman Ed Novotny said. Houghton was traveling and couldn't be reached, and Singh wasn't immediately available to comment.