Congressman David Cicilline and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse piled up campaign contributions during the first three months of this year, more than doubling the size of their political war chests as they prepare to face voters in 2012.

Whitehouse was the big winner in both dollar and percentage terms. His campaign account’s cash on hand grew from $722,999 on Dec. 31 to $1.7 million on March 31, an increase of 133%. He and his Republican challenger could spend $5 million each on next year’s race if it proves competitive.

Whitehouse’s Senate colleague Jack Reed actually saw his cash hoard dip slightly during the first quarter, but it didn’t make much of a dent – Reed had $2.3 million stockpiled as of March 31. Here’s a comparison for the two senators:

On the House side, Cicilline’s prodigious fundraising helped grow his campaign account from $37,562 on Dec. 31 to $77,931 on March 31. Congressman Jim Langevin’s cash tally was basically steady at $182,564. Here’s how the two House members stacked up at the end of March:

Those numbers do not include the $89,000 in debt Cicilline is still carrying from last year’s race – the bulk of it a $70,000 personal loan he made to his own campaign. One of his Democratic primary opponents, Anthony Gemma, still owes $198,148.

Langevin, by contrast, was debt-free as of March 31. The two senators’ filings are not available electronically yet, so it’s unclear if they have any debt; neither Reed nor Whitehouse owed anything as of Dec. 31.

Two potential Cicilline opponents had little or no cash as of March 31: former state Rep. John Loughlin had $99 and Gemma had none. Cicilline’s predecessor, former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, still had $9,564 in his account.