As the grandson of the founding executive of General Electric, Alexander "Sandy" Treadwell has enough money to run for Congress without the help of the cash-strapped National Republican Campaign Committee.

But Treadwell bristles at talk that he was "recruited" to run against Democratic freshman Rep. Kristen Gillibrand in New York's 20th Congressional District. He is more than just a moneybags, he says. He is a Republican with a long history in local and state politics, who happens to be rich.

"I was not recruited. I knew (NRCC Chairman) Tom Cole since we were both secretaries of state," he told FOXNews.com in a recent interview. "I called him well over a year ago to tell him I was interested in running.

"I was very pleased to step forward into the race. I've been interested in public service for a long time."

Treadwell, who served in the late 1990s as secretary of state in Gov. George Pataki's administration as well as head of the state Republican Party from 2000 to 2004, is one of eight Republicans who have collectively spent more than $9 million so far on their congressional bids.

And the party is happy to have them. The Republicans have 29 open seats to defend in the House -- far more than the Democrats -- and several are in highly competitive districts. The conventional wisdom is that the mood of the country is similar to the one two years ago, when the GOP lost its majority in the House.

"We have to take the resources we have and use them wisely," said Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., who is retiring his seat this year and chaired the NRCC before Cole.

Reynolds said the NRCC is at a disadvantage compared to the better-funded Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Aside from fund-raising and recruiting challenges, the large number of open GOP seats, coupled with the party's minority status and bad "atmospherics," makes it all the better if a candidate can pay for his own campaign and have a shot at winning and representing the party well.

But Julie Shutley, spokeswoman for the NRCC, said the committee's money troubles are greatly exaggerated. She says the NRCC is back in the black and generating much-needed funds since it finally paid off $18 million in debt from 2006.

"I think there is a bit of perception versus reality," she said, playing down the narrative that the NRCC has recruited millionaires in order to economize.

"We're going to have the resources we need to play in the areas we need," Shutley said. She insisted those areas include heavily Republican districts where Democratic challengers defeated Republican incumbents two years ago.

Treadwell is in one of those districts. Gillibrand is thought to have won her seat largely because then-Rep. John Sweeney had been compromised by personal scandal and ethics issues.

Just Being Practical

Treadwell, like other wealthy candidates, considers himself a Republican running for office first, and a man with the ability to throw in his own cash second. So far, he has contributed $948,000 to his campaign and has raised $732,000 in individual contributions. His Democratic opponent, known as one of the most prolific fund-raisers in the House, has almost $2.5 million in cash on hand. The race is expected to be competitive.

"It's a big Republican seat and Sandy saw that, and knows what happened in 2006, and he thinks he can win this seat back. [The money] will allow us to be competitive," said Treadwell's spokesman, Peter Constantakes.

"It would be foolish to rely on any NRCC money right now," said Travis Smith, spokesman for Keith Fimian, the presumed Republican nominee for the Virginia House seat left open by retiring GOP Rep. Tom Davis. It is expected to be one of the most competitive races of the year, and Fimian so far has put $325,000 of his cash into it. The Democratic candidate for the district has not been chosen yet.

Republicans hope Fimian, as the founder and former chairman of a successful home inspection business, can do more than help fund his own bid. Supporters say he could prove to be a formidable candidate, making the transition from businessman to successful politician.

"People say he is buying the election, but it's not true," said Smith, who noted his boss wasn't recruited, but rather started raising money months before Davis dropped out in anticipation that the congressman was going to run for Senate. Davis has since decided not to run for retiring Virginia GOP Sen. John Warner's seat.

"I don't know if [Fimian] would consider himself a 'self-funded' candidate," said Smith. "It's not like he is going to pump a ton of his own money into the race. He loves the fund-raising, he loves to talk to people. For someone with no political experience at all, he's phenomenal."

Money Doesn't Make the Candidate

The top 10 self-funders in the 2008 race -- four Democrats, including one incumbent, and six Republicans -- have already triggered the so-called "Millionaire's Amendment" to the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. The amendment kicks in when a candidate invests $350,000 of personal money into a campaign.

Once the amendment is triggered, opponents can choose to raise hard-money donations at three times the limit of $2,300 per individual. The amendment was included in the 2002 legislation to level the playing field for challengers up against the bottomless pockets of wealthy candidates.

According to Federal Election Commission records, some 110 congressional candidates triggered the amendment during the 2006 midterm election, but only half of their opponents decided to solicit funds over the contribution limit. In addition, the Supreme Court heard arguments just last week about whether the controversial amendment is constitutional. A decision is expected by late June and could affect the upcoming elections.

Nathan Gonzalez, editor of The Rothenberg Political Report, said money doesn't necessarily make the candidate -- the road is clogged with self-funders who never went anywhere. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was forced to pull out of the presidential race this year after pouring $42.3 million of his own money into his campaign.

On the House scale, plenty of self-funders have been eliminated during this election season. David Landrum put in $410,000 of his own cash, only to come in third in his bid for the Republican nomination in the open 3rd Congressional District race in Mississippi.

But plenty of millionaire success stories can be told. Take New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg or New Jersey Gov. John Corzine, a former Goldman Sachs partner who spent a record $63 million of his own money to win his U.S. Senate seat in 2000.

"It really depends on how they spend their money -- just like in real life, they could take a lot of money and flush it down the toilet," said Rothenberg.

Many of these self-funders are right now just paying to play in a crowded primary field in competitive districts. Aubrey Dunn, the former CEO of First Federal Bank in New Mexico, has contributed $300,000 of his own money in a bid for the seat left open by Rep. Steve Pearce, who is running for the Senate.

"He didn't ask anything from anybody -- he decided to invest $300,000 of his own money for the future of New Mexico," said spokesman Mario Burgos, who believes Dunn has "the best chance at beating a Democrat." He finished first at the GOP state convention, which places him at the top of the June 1 primary ballot.

Reynolds said the NRCC could also benefit from having John McCain at the top of the ticket as the GOP's presidential nominee.

"I think John has always been willing to help," said Reynolds, who noted that McCain will be quite appealing in competitive, moderate districts in the Northeast. "He has always been generous where it can make a difference in House and Senate races."

Click here to see the list of top self-funded candidates this election cycle.